The Lone Bodyguard
by Nirito
Summary: After losing his friends during a quest, Nirito has to deal with the pain of being the only survivor of the group. Three years has passed since then and he still feels the pain of losing them and has constant nightmares of that day. One day he gets an offer of a lifetime of being Vert's personal bodyguard. Will Vert be able to heal Nirito's pain? Rated M "for reasons"
1. A Fateful Meeting

**Chapter 1:** A Fateful Meeting

" _Why did you abandon us?"_

 _A familiar voice rings within my ears. This voice I remember all too well. It's due to spending about five years with "her" voice constantly teasing or nagging me._

 _How many times I had this nightmare again? I can't remember. I think I stopped counting a long time ago…_

 _Why am I haunted by this tragic "memory" every night? I don't know anymore…_

 _Before I thought it was the effect from that traumatizing event. However, now I believe that probably isn't the case…_

 _After many repeats night after night, I'm convinced this is a curse._

" _Why did you leave us?"_

 _I look around my surroundings, the trees are on fire and the grass burnt to a crisp. There were four corpses within the crimson flames. The corpses are standing all limp, like a puppet on strings. Those four corpses used to be my friends, three of them I met throughout spending my five years with "her." The voice I'm hearing right now was from said girl. Her name was Aya Kizuna..._

" _You left us to die!"_

 _Instinctively, I put a hand to my face and I can feel tears running down. I notice that my vision is turning into a blur, most likely due to breathing in all of this smoke._

" _Yes... I did…"_ _I say in a broken voice. Even though this is a dream, I revert to my terrified self like I was back in that point in time._

 _She's right… As their leader, I failed them… I'm responsible for letting them die. I couldn't save them… I merely froze up when things started looking bad for us. I'm weak…_

" _RAWWWWWWR!" The one who slaughtered my friends let out a loud roar._

" _You should have died with us!"_

" _You're right…"_ _The corpses that were standing limp, fall one by one until Aya was the last one standing._

" _Your turn…"_

 _The Ancient Dragon stomps its way up to me. It gave me a terrifying glare before raising its claw. It lets out another ear bleeding roar as it swipes down its claw upon me._

 ***SLASH***

 _The_ _next I knew… I was surrounded in darkness…_

* * *

 ** ***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*****

"Gah!" I wake up with a jolt as my alarm went off, waking me from my hellish nightmare I was having. I shut off my alarm and put my right hand up to my head to soothe my painful headache. Then I felt sweat on my black hair and turned to look back at my pillow to see it was soaking with sweat.

"Great…" I sigh.

I got up from bed and went to the bathroom. I look at the mirror and I see that my brown eyes are red and there are dried tear stains across my face.

"It has been three years since that fight and I'm still like this." I smiled. "I have become quite a baby these last three years, Aya."

After taking a shower I went to my closet to put on my "usual everyday clothing." What I'm wearing is a dark blue trench with white linings around the edges. It has a hood with fur across its edges so I can use this coat for colder days as well. My coat sleeves are folded up to my elbows and I wear a pair of black fingerless elbow length gloves. I wear a plain white undershirt that is tucked under my black cargo pants. Which is tucked under my dark gray boots, all military style like. Around my neck is a custom made necklace with a butterfly pin attached to it and is underneath my shirt. I like to say that necklace is my lucky charm.

"Now time to start making breakfast…" I walk over to the small kitchen and begin cooking.

…

…

…

 ***Munch* *Munch* *Gulp***

After eating breakfast, I check my phone to see that it's almost 8 am. My eyes widen at the time.

 _Oh crap! The game is gonna be sold out if I don't book it right now!_

After cleaning up my dishes, I grab my wallet and head out of my apartment door. I am met with a futuristic city and the sounds of people going on with their day.

 _Leanbox sure is busy as ever… Oh crap! I should hurry!_

* * *

"Haaaa….Haaaaa…..Haaa…" I take in a deep breath and head into the shop, which is named GameStart.

 _Please, please, please! For the love of Lady Green Heart! Let there be copies left!_

"Where are you…" I scan the shelves to see if I can locate the game I'm looking for. "Is that!?" My eyes point straight to the corner of the store.

"It is!" Plot conveniently, there is one copy left on the shelf.

 _Finally! After waiting so long… Zenoblade Chronicles Z is about to be mine…_

I reach my hand out towards the game. "Huh?" A soft and smooth hand overlaps on top of my hand, which is on the case. I turned to see a woman about my age staring at me. I think? She has long curled light blonde hair. She is wearing a Leanbox High School hat and has a pair of green sunglasses that is blocking me from seeing her eyes. Also, she is wearing a plain green t-shirt that looks too small because her chest is…

 _Wow…_

Anyway she is wearing a long white skirt and a pair of white heels. For some reason in my mind, I'm thinking…

 _What the hell type of event is this?! I'm pretty sure this type of event only happens in dating sims and can never happen in real life! Right!?_

"Excuse me sir would you mind removing your hand from that game please?" My little trance was broken when the woman started to speak up.

I shake my head side to side. "I'm sorry ma'am, but I got this game first. As you can see where my hand is." I said as I put a little grip on the game container with one hand.

"I got to say, you are quite the gentleman. It's rare these days to see someone like you." She gripped a side and smiled at me.

"Are trying to butter me up in order to get the game?" I narrow my eyes. "Sorry ma'am, but that doesn't work on me."

"Is that so?" She got closer to me that her chest is basically touching my arm that is holding onto the game case. "Can you give me the game pretty please~"

 _Damn it… The weakness of men… However… I won't fall for it!_

"I'm sorry, but that also won't work on me! Hiya!" I give a good, strong pull on the disc case.

"Ah!" This caught her off guard and she lost her grip on it. I use this chance to grab the game. I take it up to the counter. The clerk gives me the glare, but I ignore it. I quickly paid for it and made my way out the door.

* * *

Right now I'm fast walking on my way home to drop off the game before heading over to guild. I keep hearing footsteps behind and I can guess who it is. I don't even need to look back to confirm my suspicions.

 _That woman again…_

"Hey. If you are trying to be stealthy, you are doing a poor job at it." I sigh and look behind me. There I see the same blond woman that was from the shop.

"My, my… How did you notice me?" She acts surprised.

"You know using a group of people as a way of being stealthy only works in Assassin's Oath right?"

"Uguu!" She lets out a weird sound of realization. "I see…"

"So do you need something? As you can see I already bought the game." I may be sounding like a jerk right now, but I'm not trying to be.

"No, I'm not trying to take the Zenoblade game off you anymore. I just came to congratulate you." I look at her with a confused expression "Not many men can resist my 'techniques' on getting games. Actually I believe you are the first to be honest."

"Hahahahaha…" I started to laugh. "What kind of reason is that to tail me just to say those words!?" I burst into laughter.

 _She's quite interesting…_

"Hey don't make fun of me!" She pouts. "Anyway mind telling me your name sir?"

I wipe a tear from my eye. "Sure my name is Nirito Haan. You can just call me Nirito." I smile and extend my hand out for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you Nirito. My name is…" I cut her off with my hand.

"I already know who you are Lady Green Heart." She looks at me in surprise.

"How did you know?" She asks in pure surprise.

"Well there are 'two' obvious reasons." I turn my eyes to the side, looking away from her.

"But… Not many humans know our human forms!" She looks at me like I'm a suspicious criminal.

I sigh. "Well… There was a time I accidentally saw you transform one day. I was visiting the Basilicom and yeah…" I scratch the back of my head.

"Oh…" She lets out a fake laugh. "I should be careful next time." I nod to her. "Anyways nice to meet you Nirito. You already know me as Green Heart, but you can call me Vert." She extends her hand out.

"Vert…" I repeat the name in my head as a way to memorize it. "Nice to meet you Vert." I extend my hand to accept her handshake.

* * *

 **A/N: Well this ends the first chapter of my first fan fiction. So what do you guys think? Please be gentle this is my first time. I'm just kidding, but in all seriousness I would like the constructive criticism so tell me if there is anything I should improve on. As for my uploading schedule, I don't really have one. I'll pretty much upload when I have the time to work on the chapters. Thank you for reading and please leave a review!**


	2. Lunch Date with a Goddess

**Chapter 2:** Lunch Date with a Goddess

"Excuse me Lady Vert." I call out to her as she was about to leave.

"Vert is fine. Is there something you need Nirito?" She takes off her sunglasses and looks at me with a confused expression.

"Would you like to have lunch with me?" I bluntly say it.

"Ehhhh!?" She looks at me in a suspicious way. Her arms covering her chest.

I put my arms up and wave them. "Woah! Wait! Don't label me as a pervert yet. Trust me, I have good reasons for asking you out to lunch."

"Tell me these reasons you speak of." She is in a defensive stance, just in case I make a move.

 _And I thought we just had a nice greeting…_

 _Well to be fair I seemed to be suspicious from her point of view._

I sigh. "It's nothing big. I just have some questions to ask. Mostly about politics and what not."

"Politics huh? So is that the reason you ask me on a 'date?'" She has a disappointed look in her eyes.

"Don't think of it as a 'date' if you're uncomfortable about it. Think of it as an interview." I compromise.

"That would make me more uncomfortable!" She huffs.

"Then maybe lunch with a friend?"

"Well I can't say we're friends yet, but that'll work I guess." She nods, then smiles at me. "So what's your other reason for having lunch with me?"

I smirk. "Who wouldn't have lunch with their favorite goddess?"

"My, my you are quite bold Nirito."

"Hmhm… I get that a lot." A melancholy smile forms on my face. I shake my head. "Well let's go! Lunch is on me!"

* * *

Right now we're at a cafe called Sunbucks. We chose a spot in the back so people wouldn't recognize Lady Green Heart, or should I say Vert. Even though she said that no one really knows her human form other than a few people, I went with the safe option and picked a booth in the back. Right now we have just finished eating and we're having a nice sip of coffee.

"This coffee is so heavenly~ This is truly made for a goddess~" Vert lets out a fulfilled smile.

 _You are a goddess…_

"You really like your caffeine." Well I'm kinda a caffeine lover myself so I'm not complaining.

"Trust me when I say this. Caffeine is the best when keeping yourself awake during a gaming marathon." She lectures.

"Just don't go hyper on me now." I smile as I recall a memory from the past.

 _Aya and coffee is a really bad combination…_

"So you got some questions for me right? I'll answer them except my three sizes." She puts her cup down.

A creepy grin forms across my face. "That's okay. I already know them."

Vert looks at me with a blush. "Huh!? Wh-Where did you get that information from you pervert!"

I put a finger to her mouth. "Shhh… Not too loud." I look around and luckily, no one didn't seem to hear. I sigh. "One day when I was 'bored.' I was browsing the Neptunia wiki and happened to stumble upon a 'certain page.'"

"Hey Nirito? Did you just break the fourth wall?" Vert changes the subject.

"Hm? Anything wrong with that?" I say a bit flabbergasted due to the sudden change in Vert's attitude.

"Well… Let's say you're kinda taking 'someone's' schtick." She looks off to the side.

"I think this is now my schtick because I'm the main character now and not 'her.'" I reply casually.

* * *

In a Planeptune far, far away…

"Nepu!"

"What's wrong sis?" A lilac-purple haired little sister asks with a worried expression.

"Nep Jr. I have felt a disturbance in the force." The light purple haired older sister says with an attempt of a serious face, but failing horribly at it.

"Huh?" A questions marks floats next to the little sister.

"It seems like some little buster is trying to take my gag…" The older one mumbles to herself. "I wonder… Possibly my role as the main character is in peril." She nods to herself. "This shall not go unpunished!" She is now infuriated and starts stomping out of the door.

"Hey sis! I don't know what you're talking about! Hey wait for me!" The little sister says as she tries to catch up to her sister.

"Hoy! Where are you two going!?" A small fairy yells at them, but was ignored.

 ***SLAM***

* * *

A cold chill goes down my spine. I turn my head right and left, trying to find the source of that sudden chill.

"Is something wrong?" Vert asks.

"No, it's nothing." I wave it off.

 _What was that just now? Maybe I should ignore it for now._

"Anyway back to the questions." I get back on subject. "First, why were you at GameStart?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's to buy the game of course!" There's a bit of hesitation in her voice.

"Really?" I look at her suspiciously. "You know you could've use your goddess status to get a copy. Probably for free at that."

She smiles. "Using my status wouldn't be fair game Nirito. Plus, I find it more fun going in shops and buying the game yourself." She takes a sip of her coffee.

"True, I give you that." I took a sip of my own coffee as well. "However, there got to be more than that. Am I right?" I set my cup down.

"My, my… You have some keen senses. That's a scary skill to have." She sets down her cup.

"Only when the plot calls for it." I shrug.

"Hmhmhm… You are really interesting Nirito." She lets out a small laugh. "What you said is true, but I believe you are looking too deep into it."

"Care to clarify?"

"The only reason I'm at GameStart in the first place is because I'm signing up for a free voucher code for Four Goddess Online."

"So you bought Zenoblade Chronicles Z already?" I ask.

"Pre-ordered it before it all sold out." A triumphant smile forms across Vert's face.

"Then what was with that scene you made at the shop?"

"I just thought it would be fun to tease passerbys."

I sigh. "Do you do that all the time?"

"Nope." She smirks. "Only to main characters."

"Cheeky…" I try to take a sip of coffee, but my cup was empty. "Tch…"

"Oh do you want mine? You were the one who paid for it anyway." Vert pushes her cup closer to me.

"No thanks." I push it right back.

"Hmhmhm~ Don't tell me it's because that would be an indirect kiss." She teases.

 _This woman…_

"No, no…" I cross my arms and lean back on the chair. "I don't want to drink too much coffee. It's kinda bad for you."

"Hmhmhm~ Okay~" She keeps teasing. "You can act tsun if you want to."

I sigh for the hundredth time. "Do you always tease strangers you just met?"

"Not really. Only to people I find interesting." She puts a hand to her cheek and points a finger at me with her other hand.

"Huh…" I shake my head. "So I got one more question and that will be all today." I change the subject.

"It sounds like I'm being interrogated…" She deadpans.

"You probably heard this question a million times." I clear my throat. "Can you clarify why all the four goddesses suddenly signed a peace treaty three months ago out of nowhere? Just three years ago, you were all trying kill each other. Now, you all look like best friends during the signing ceremony." For years now the CPUs from Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox has been fighting a war called the Console Wars. Then suddenly they stopped fighting and three months ago, a peace treaty was signed.

"Hmmm… I got to be careful on what I say. Knowing that you have keen senses." Vert ponders a bit.

"I know many news reporters asked you this question. However, you always say it's classified. I just want to know to satisfy my curiosity. I promise I won't tell a soul."

She nods. "I can tell you a big event happened three years ago. That's all I'm going to tell you. It's kinda sensitive territory."

 _I wonder… Could that be…_

"Oh sorry…" I nod to myself. "Well that's all my questions. Thank you for giving me an audience with you Lady Green Heart." I bow and gave her a smile.

"Hmhmhm… It's my pleasure Nirito. I enjoyed our little lunch 'date.'" Vert smiled back.

"I gotta go now." I get up from my seat. "Got to do some guild work."

"I'll stay here for a while before returning to the Basilicom. Have fun and don't die."

"I'll try." I wave to her as I leave Sunbucks.

* * *

 ** **Vert's POV****

"What an interesting man…" In the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of a small rectangular object.

"Oh what's this?" I pick up the object and see it's a game container. The title of the game is Zenoblade Chronicles Z.

"For having a sharp mind, he can be pretty forgetful too. I guess I should return it to him." I ponder for a bit.

 _Though Chika will probably get angry if I don't come back soon. She's really a clingy girl. However, if I say it's for a friend…_

After pondering, I finally made a decision. "I should really return it to him. He might be crying right now like a child who lost their favorite toy." I giggle at the thought. "Plus, it's just gonna be a quick drop off."

 _If I remember he said something about heading to the guild._

I get up from my seat and put on my sunglasses. "Let's go!"

* * *

 **A/N: I would like to thank everyone who gives this story a favorite and/or a follow. I really appreciate it and as always thanks for reading and please leave a review!**


	3. Meeting Marie

**Chapter 3:** Meeting Marie

 **Nirito's POV**

I arrive at a building which is known as the Leanbox guild. For some reason though I feel like I'm forgetting something. However, nothing is coming to my mind.

 _Oh well it's probably not that important anyway._

I went inside the building and wave to an adult woman behind the counter. "Good afternoon Marie!" The response I got was a glare.

"I keep telling you it's Maria! Please get it right!" She said in an annoyed tone.

I smirk. "You know I will always get it wrong." Maria or should I say Marie is a guild employee. Her job is basically to handle the quest related stuff. Bringing in quests from other people to handing them out to other guild members.

"Tell me why I'm friends with you again…" She sighs.

"Well it's most likely because you can't get a man to marry." I let out a sigh. "Thus I befriended you, someone who is younger than you, in order to fill in that void. Basically it's out of pity."

"Shut up like you're the one to talk about being in a relationship!" She smirks. "Besides I signed up for a dating site not too long ago so I'm at least making more progress than you when it comes to a love life."

 _Ouch that hurts…_

"Are you sure? I was having a nice lunch date not too long ago." I give triumphant smile.

"Ho ho ho! Sorry Nirito, dating sims doesn't count." She retorts.

"Well it's up to you if you believe me or not…" I decide that I'm not even gonna try to argue with her. "So had any failed dates recently?"

"For your information…" Her eye twitches. "I plan on meeting someone tonight and we're going to have a nice dinner!"

"Wait it's already established that the dinner will be nice!?" I retort.

A vein is visible on her forehead. "Look you bastard… Why couldn't you be more supportive like Aya?" She folds her arms.

"Yeah, yeah…" I sigh. "How about I treat you to ice cream when you return from your failed date."

"Jerk…" She unfolds her arms. "But it's good enough I guess."

"So onto business now?" I change the subject.

"I'll get the quest screen up." In front of me a monitor boots up and a quest window pops up. I took a few minutes to scan over all the available quests.

"Oh? This one seems interesting." The name of the quest is Fairy Fenrir F. The objective is to kill three Fenrir monsters. Oddly though it doesn't say anything about killing fairies, but I shouldn't complain. It just means less work for me to do.

 _Plus, I'm pretty sure fairies are just a mythical creature from the fairy tales I read about._

 ***Tap***

Deciding to go with this quest for today, I tap the accept button on the monitor.

Marie gives me a worried expression. "Nirito this is a dangerous quest for just one person. I recommend that you come back with at least one or two more people in your party." Every time I choose a dangerous quest like this, Marie always tries to convince me out of it.

"Don't worry about me Marie. I usually come back without any injuries."

 _Well… Maybe except that one time…_

"Fenrir are quite strong and fast. They are pretty fearsome monsters to fight." She gives me a serious look. "Even though you're one of the top guild members, this quest is meant for parties of three to…"

"MARIE!" I yell in a stern voice. The result was that people were looking at us. I wave my hand, signaling to them it was nothing.

"I'm sorry…" She replies in a shocked voice.

"No, no! It's not your fault. I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm sorry for yelling at you." I bow my head.

"That's okay, but please don't scare me like that again."

"Yeah sorry about that, but you know how I feel about working with other people." I give a sad smile.

"That 'event.'" Marie says in a grim voice.

After a few seconds of silence, I give a serious expression. "I know you care about me and you don't want me to die so that's why you try to talk me out of doing these quests." She nods. "You're also the one person who took care of me after that 'event' until I got back up on my feet."

"Yes that's true." She nods again.

"I thank you for that, but you know the reason why I accept these types of quests."

"To become stronger so you won't lose someone ever again…" She gives a heavy sigh. "Fine I'll let you go."

"Thanks Marie!" I bow to her.

"But you still owe me that ice cream." She smirks.

"Well that's if you fail."

"Oh? Are you thinking that I will actually succeed? That's oddly supportive of you…"

"Hoy, hoy… I can be nice sometimes." I sigh.

"Now go away before you make anymore snark comments." She waves her hand as a sign of shooing me away.

"Yeah, yeah…" I wave to her and walk out of the guild building.

* * *

Right now I'm in a place called Rebirth Forest. This particular forest is one area that I'm all too familiar with. Three years ago this forest used to be my party's questing grounds. I say 'my party' because I used to be the leader of that group. This forest is also the same one where that Ancient Dragon killed everyone…

 _Speaking of which… I wonder what happened to the dragon…_

 ***Rustle* *Rustle***

I turn my head to the right. "Finally found one of you…" I had to travel a bit far in order to get to Fenrir territory. Rebirth Forest is quite a huge place, so walking was kinda a pain.

 _I wish there was a mount system or at least some type of fast travel in real life…_

I focus my hearing on the bushes so I can track where the Fenrir is hiding. After figuring out its location, I position my body to get ready to dodge its attack.

 ***Rustle***

The Fenrir finally came out of its hiding spot and had pounce at me. I did a quick side step, completely avoiding its attack. That left it open and I kick it at its side. It knocks it back a bit and it gives a whimper as it lands on the ground. I quickly jump back, getting some distance between me and the Fenrir.

"Grrrrrrrrrrr…" It quickly recovers back on its feet and starts growling at me. It gets to what I assume is a battle stance.

 _I guess a kick won't really have much of an effect against an oversized wolf._

"..." I held out my hand and a blue aura starts to appear at my palm. The aura forms the shape of a sword and the blue glow soon disappears, revealing an actual sword. I grip the handle and get into my battle stance.

The Fenrir made the first move as it starts charging at me. I stood my ground, waiting for it to make its attack.

It raises its right claw in an attempt to swipe at me. However, I dodge to my left, the Fenrir missing by a few centimeters. I retaliate by slashing at its side with the sword, leaving a big cut at the Fenrir's right side. Data flows out of the open wound I just gave it.

Surprisingly it's still standing even though it just took a lot of damage. However, it seems like it can't move. I take this chance to finish it off, but that doesn't mean I should drop my guard.

I move closer to the Fenrir, my instincts keep telling me to stay on the alert. As I got up to the paralyzed Fenrir, as I predicted, it swiftly brings up its left claw for a final attempt to attack.

 _Marie is right, Fenrir are indeed fast. Unfortunately for it though, I'm faster._

 ***SLICE***

I slice off the left paw and it went up into the air. When it hit the ground, it explodes into data.

"Awooooooooooooooo…" It starts letting out a loud howl.

"Shit!" That howl could probably mean it's calling for the others. I need to finish this up quickly before reinforcements arrive.

I hold the handle of my sword with both hands and slam the blade down, piercing its forehead. The Fenrir stops howling and a few seconds later, it explodes into data.

"One down, two more to go…"

* * *

 ** **Vert's POV****

I finally arrive at the guild building. The reason I took so long was that I was distracted by an anime sale that's going on today and decided to take a minor detour. I bought a few merch and drop off the stuff at the Basilicom. I also told Chika where I'm going and she argued that I should stay here. In the end I ignored her and sneaked off. I'm still wearing my disguise, even though people doesn't know my human other than a few people, Nirito included. You can say I'm a bit paranoid in a sense.

"Hello ma'am. How may I help you today?" A woman behind the counter greeted me as I walk up to her.

"Yeah, I need to know where a certain someone is." I adjust my sunglasses.

"Lost child ma'am?" She asks with a curious look on her face.

"No!" I blush. "I don't have a child! I'm just looking for a guy named Nirito!"

"WHAT!?" The woman yells in shock.

* * *

 **A/N: Let me say that this is my first time writing a fight scene so forgive me if it's not that exciting or action packed. I'll try to improve in the upcoming chapters so look forward to that. If you guys have any questions please PM about it and I'll try my best to answer it without spoiling anything. As always thanks for reading and please leave a review!**


	4. First Blood

**Chapter 4:** First Blood

 **Vert's POV**

I finally arrive at the guild building. The reason I took so long was that I was distracted by an anime sale that's going on today and decided to take a minor detour. I bought a few merch and drop off the stuff at the Basilicom. I also told Chika where I'm going and she argued that I should stay here. In the end I ignored her and sneaked off. I'm still wearing my disguise, even though people doesn't know my human other than a few people, Nirito included. You can say I'm a bit paranoid in a sense.

"Hello ma'am. How may I help you today?" A woman behind the counter greeted me as I walk up to her.

"Yeah, I need to know where a certain someone is." I adjust my sunglasses.

"Lost child ma'am?" She asks with a curious look on her face.

"No!" I blush. "I don't have a child! I'm just looking for a guy named Nirito!"

"WHAT!?" The woman yells in shock.

* * *

"Ah!" I jump a little from the sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me for startling you ma'am!" The woman bows her head in apology.

I raise my hands. "It's fine…" I squint to look at her nametag. "Ms. Maria."

"Maria is fine." She smiles.

Maria looks like she is in her early 30s. She has hazel eyes and long brunette hair that is tied into a ponytail. She wears business attire with her nametag on the left and the Leanbox crest on the right.

"Is there something wrong Maria?" I see Maria staring at me.

"Have we met before? You seem oddly familiar…" She narrows her eyes.

 _Does she know my human form? Was I that careless when transforming? Nonetheless, I got to think of something before she figures out my true identity._

"I believe we haven't met before. I'm um… a foreigner on vacation. M-My name is um… Rina Satou." I try to keep on a poker face.

"I see… So what nation did you come from?"

"I came from um… Lastation." A drop of sweat goes down my head.

"Well…" She pauses for a bit. "Welcome to Leanbox Rina!" Maria gives a welcoming smile. "Also you're kinda sweating over there. Here…" Maria hands me a box of tissues.

"Ha ha… Sorry about that. I tend to get hot really easily." I grab a tissue a dab it on my forehead.

 _Phew… I dodged a bullet right there…_

"Yeah… Since Leanbox is an island, it can get quite humid here."

"Ha ha…" I let out a fake laugh. "I guess I'm just used to the Lastation weather." I throw away the tissue in the nearby trash bin.

"Anyway you're looking for a person named Nirito right? May I ask how do you know him? Also, what your relationship with him is?" Maria gives me a curious gaze.

I give a slight blush. "We're just acquaintances that's all. As I said before, I came to Leanbox for vacation. I never went here before due to traveling fees."

"Let me guess, you got lost and Nirito helped you?" Maria finishes off my fake explanation.

"Bingo." I nod.

 _Seems like I found the right person to ask._

"So how did it go? Was he being at least nice for once?" She asks.

"Seems like you had a history with him…"

"He can be quite the jerk sometimes… Most of the time…" Maria sighs.

"Hmhmhm~ As for my first impressions, he seems like a pretty nice guy. Treated me to lunch." Maria stares at me wide eyed.

"So he wasn't lying…" She mumbles something that I couldn't hear.

"What was that?"

"Oh? Nothing!" She does a fake laugh. "So why are you looking for him?"

"He left this at the cafe." I show her the Zenoblade game. "I'm here to return it."

"Oh it's that game. I'm not really a video game person, but I remember him talking about this game before." Maria thinks for a bit. "Nirito is doing a quest right now. You can wait for him here if you would like or leave the game with me."

"Hmm… Can you tell me where he went for the quest?" I'm quite an impatient person when it comes to waiting. However, grinding in video games is an entirely different story.

"Don't tell me you're going to find him. The place he's at is really dangerous. It's not a place for civilians, let alone a foreigner."

"Don't worry about me. I'm quite an able fighter myself."

"Hmmmm…" Maria ponders for a minute.

 **Maria's POV**

"If you're insistent on going, I won't stop you. However, I have a request to ask if you do." I look at Rina with a serious expression.

"Oh? What is this request?" Rina has a confused expression.

"You see the quest Nirito took is quite dangerous and I'm quite worried about him."

"So you want me to see if he's ok?"

"Bingo."

"Don't worry I'll make sure he comes back safe and sound!" She gives me a reassuring smile.

"Thank you. He is at a place called Rebirth Forest. You might find him around Fenrir territory."

"Got it." She nods. "Thanks for the info Maria. I'll be heading off now." Rina gives me a bow before leaving.

…

…

…

"Rina Satou huh… So familiar…" I look at the time on my phone. "Crap! I'm gonna be late for my date!"

* * *

 ** **Vert's POV****

"This forest is really dense. I wonder if I'm at Fenrir territory yet." I say as I fly over the forest.

 _Fenrir territory huh… I wonder why he would venture there alone. Unlike me, he's a human and in terms of speed and strength, a Fenrir clearly outmatches a human._

"I should hurry before it's too late." I speed up.

After a few minutes of flying…

"Great… I can't see the ground anymore…" I land and revert back into my human form.

I take off my sunglasses and hat and put it 'somewhere.' "My, my Nirito you sure play hard to get~" I giggle to myself at the thought.

I summon my spear and started walking. "However, I'm really good when it comes to finding Waldo."

After a few minutes of walking…

"Hm?" For a minute there I swear I heard the sound of a dying howl. I walk towards the sound and found myself before a clearing. I immediately hide behind a tree and take a peek from the side.

I spot three Fenrir surrounding what seems like a person. The figure in the middle is somehow familiar. As my vision focuses I see that figure is Nirito and he looks unharmed. Right now the three Fenrir and Nirito are in a stare down, unwilling to make the first move.

 _My, my Nirito has really gotten himself into a pinch._

I take a closer look at Nirito's weaponry and it looks like he has only a sword in his hand. The sword though looks awfully similar to the Master Sword from the game The Legend of Zoldo. However, the hilt is black and the gem in the middle of the hilt is blue. It's also missing the iconic symbol, the tri-force on the blade. However, what caught my attention is that the sword is emanating a blue aura.

 _Could that be a magical artifact?_

Though, magical artifact or not, he's still clearly outmatched and is at a big disadvantage in terms of speed and strength.

 _However, I have the element of surprise, so…_

 ***Snap***

* * *

 ** **Nirito's POV****

For about 5 minutes, I've been in a staring contest with the three Fenrir currently surrounding me. I've managed to kill another Fenrir before getting caught up in this mess. So that makes two out of three for my quest. However, after I killed it, the rest of the pack came out of hiding and started to surround me. I was about to make my attack, but…

 ***Snap***

"Damn it Vert!" I call out to the person behind the tree, which I guessed to be Vert. The reason why is that two 'round objects' were kinda protruding from the tree she was hiding.

"Sorry!" She responds.

 _What the hell is with the plot convenient twig!?_

As you can see, a certain 'someone' stepped on a twig. I think she was going for a surprise attack, but messed up due to the plot convenient twig on the ground. The sound catches the Fenrir's attention and they turn towards Vert's location. After making contact, they start charging towards her. It's a good thing that they lost their focus on me. With them focus on Vert, I can finally make my move.

"Hey Vert! I'm sorry about this, but play the tank for a while!" Vert is holding off the Fenrir with her spear.

 ***Cling***

"What!? My character isn't built to be a tank!" She blocks an attack from the Fenrir.

"Just do it!" I yell back at her.

 _I should hurry before Vert runs out of stamina._

I pick up a rock from the ground and aim it towards one of the Fenrir.

 ***SMACK***

This got its attention and it charges towards me. It brought up its claw for a strike, but I manage to block it.

 ***CLING* *SLICE* *CLING* *SCRATCH***

For a minute, we both traded blows, but neither managed to land a hit. The Fenrir I'm fighting appears to be an adult version so presumably its speed and strength are most likely at its prime. The last two I killed were much slower so I can assume their likely young pups.

"Tch… This is tiring…" We were both getting tired and this turns into a battle of who will run out of stamina first.

The Fenrir made a claw strike and I parry it. There I saw it left itself open so I thought this was the perfect time to finish it. I retaliate by giving it a left uppercut to the chin followed by a round kick to its side. It launches the Fenrir a good distance away. I position my sword over my shoulder and run up as fast as I can up to the Fenrir before it regains its bearings.

"Cross Slash!" I yell and my blade gives off the blue aura and I slash my sword into an X at the Fenrir. This left an X mark on its body. Soonly, it collapses to the ground.

"Awoooo…" It lets off a dying howl before exploding into data. I drop to my knees and take in deep breaths.

"Well that's three out of three for my quest. However…" I turn back to look at how Vert is doing.

"Sylhet Spear!" Vert summons a magic spear out of thin air and it pierces the Fenrir's forehead. It falls to the ground and explodes into data.

I get up and walk up to Vert. "Yo Vert! Are you okay?" We both dematerialize our weapons.

"I'm fine, but you on the other hand…" She looks at how tired I am. "It looks like you ran a full marathon."

"Yeah I'm really tired right now. I want to go home and take a nice long nap." I put my hands to my knees. "Also, why are you here Vert? I thought you had to return to the Basilicom."

Vert puts a hand to her chin. "Oh yeah I almost forgot! You le…"

 ***Rustle* *Rustle***

"Hold that thought for now." I cut her off. "Did you manage to kill the third Fenrir right?"

"No… I thought you got it." The response I get wasn't the one I'm looking for.

"No I didn't… I would be dead if I were to fight two." I turn my head side to side.

 _Where the hell is it!? I can't get a fixed location of the damn thing!_

"Don't say that Nirito!" Vert scolds me. "Mari-"

 ***Rustle***

"Vert watch out!" The final Fenrir jumps out of hiding from the bush behind us. It raises its claw towards Vert. I'm too tired to materialize my sword in time to protect her and it seems like it's the same with Vert. Also, dodging is no good as well.

 _Then there is only thing I can do…_

 ***SCRATCH***

I got in front of Vert to block the attack. The result was that I got struck instead.

"Nirito!" Vert stares at me wide eyed in shock.

"Ow, ow… I'll certainly feel this in the morning…" My back is bleeding a lot. However, I resist the pain and smile back at Vert. "Who the hell do you think I am! I won't die easily by a mere scratch!"

"N-Nirito…" She cups her hands over her mouth.

"Now give me a second. I got some beef with this little pup." I pat her on the head.

I quickly turn around and elbow the Fenrir in the face. It got knocked back a bit, but that's enough space for me. I use all my remaining energy to materialize my sword.

"Assault Strike!" Before it got the chance to get up, I shout a skill. My sword glows radiates with blue aura and I lunge myself at the Fenrir.

 ***SLICE***

I cut through the Fenrir's body like butter and it splits in half before turning into data. I turn back to Vert who was still in shock.

"A-Are y-you o-okay?" Vert stutters with her words.

"Not at all." I smile at her. "So call the Medic for me." With that said, darkness envelops me.

 _What a crappy day…_

 ** ***THUD*****

* * *

 **A/N: As always thank you for reading!**


	5. A Sudden Proposal

**Chapter 5:** A Sudden Proposal

" _Why did you abandon us?"_

 _What!? This dream again!?_

" _Why did you leave us?"_

 _Why am I in dreamland right now? If I remember I was fighting Fenrir for a quest earlier. Did one manage to strike me? Am I dead? No, that should be impossible because…_

" _You left us to die!"_

 _Wait I'm pretty sure there was one other person with me. Who was it though? I can't make out their face at all, but I know for sure that they were there with me._

" _Damn it…" Thinking about it gives me a headache. Wait… Can I even get headaches in dreams?_

" _You should have died with us!"_

" _Join us Nirito…" Says the three other lifeless corpses within the flames._

 _The voices of my other friends breaks my train of thought and brings me back to the dream. I hear them repeating that same line over and over._

" _Stop… the voices… please…" Whatever, is in my mind from before is gone. Now filled with voices…_

" _Join us Nirito…"_

" _Please stop…" Am I haunted by the ghosts of my former comrades? Is this punishment due to me living?_

" _Join us Nirito…"_

" _Please…" All I know is if this keeps up… I'll eventually lose my sanity._

" _Your turn…"_

" _RAWWWWWWWWR!" The dragon gives an ear piercing roar._

 _Like before, the Ancient Dragon approaches me. It gives me a deadly glare that can make anyone soil their pants. For a moment it just stands there as if it's mocking me. Like it's enjoying the look of terror on my face._

" _Huh?" What is this? Something about this feels off. The dragon is giving off a shadowy aura that I've never seen before in any of my other nightmares. This is the first time I'm seeing this and it looks quite malevolent. However, it's not time to worry about that right now because…_

" _RAWWWWWWWR!" As on cue the dragon raises its claw. Right now I'm petrified so I can't run away. I just stand there waiting for my demise to fall before me._

 _ ***SLASH***_

 _I fall to the ground, unable to move. A lot of blood coming out from chest. I'm gasping for air. It's hard to breath and it's getting darker as the seconds pass. I somehow manage to turn my head towards the fire where four corpses lay there motionless._

" _I'm… sorry… everyone… I… failed… all… of… you…" I close my eyes and let myself succumb to the darkness._

…

…

…

* * *

"Gah!" I wake up with a jolt. Still half asleep, I instinctively reach my hand out to turn off my alarm to find out it's not there.

"Huh?" I look to the side to see my alarm clock is gone.

Whatever sleepiness I had earlier is now instantly gone. My eyes snap open and I look around the room. Sure enough, this isn't my room. The room I'm in is nothing too special. There is just a bed with two drawers on each side. In front of the bed is a flat screen TV hanging on the wall. In the corner of the room there is an empty desk with a chair and in the other corner, there is the closet. The only thing that stands out is that there is a lot green. The walls and ceiling is painted green and even my bed sheets are green as well. The flooring though is black carpet.

 _I wonder if I can film in this room…_

The room's overall atmosphere is pretty relaxing for some reason. I feel like I can fall right back to sleep, but…

"Tch…" I put my hand up to my head to help soothe the pain. I smile to myself thinking…

 _This feels like Chapter 1 all over again. Déjà vu indeed…_

After my headache settled down, I get up from the bed and stretch a bit.

"Ow…" I wince in pain.

I find myself missing my trench coat, gloves, and undershirt. It's been replaced by an excessive amount of bandages that people could mistake me as a mummy. Luckily, I still have my pants on and my boots are right next to the bed. I went up to the closet mirror to inspect my wounds and…

"Looks good…" I take off my bandages and find a bit of dried blood on them. I look to see how my back is and sure enough the wound is already closed. Though, it feels like I got hit by a truck.

 _If I remember, I got clawed by a Fenrir while trying to protect Vert. I killed it and blacked out. I can guess that she somehow carried me back to Leanbox and brought me to the Basilicom for treatment. I gotta remind myself to thank her the next time I see her. For now though, let's see if I can find something to wear in the closet._

"Wow…" I open up the closet and see it packed with tons of plain green t-shirts... The amount of green shirts in this closet is just absurd.

I pick up one shirt from one pile and put it on. It fits me pretty well and it has that new clothing smell to it.

I went out of the room and I'm now in a hallway. I look to the left and see that there are stairs leading down which I can assume is the lobby. Then I look to right which leads into a big door. My curiosity got the best of me and I head to the right. I knock the door a few times.

 ***Knock* *Knock***

* * *

 ** **Vert's POV****

"What is the meaning of this?!" After yesterday's incident I find myself being interrogated by an angry Chika.

"What do you mean Chika?"

"You told me that you were helping a friend! I didn't expect you take on a dangerous quest! What would have happen if my darling Vert would have gotten injured? My poor heart wouldn't take it."

"Please don't be so dramatic Chika. Besides I didn't get injured at all. As you can see I'm perfectly fine." I try to calm her down.

"However, that 'friend' of yours didn't look too good when you brought him in." Chika sighs. "The janitors were having a hell of a time cleaning up that blood."

"Yeah…" I look down. "However, I will use everything in my power to let him live." I say with a sad and worried tone.

 _He protected me and I must return the favor…_

"So the guy you brought in is named Nirito huh?" Chika crosses her arms. "I looked at his background and he's not too impressive."

"Hoy… Isn't a background check invading his privacy?" I stare at her.

"It's for your safety!"

"Safety huh… He seemed like a nice guy to me."

"He could be hiding his true nature!" Chika pouts. "What would've happen if that 'Beast' were to kidnap you!?" She blushes. "A-And d-do 'things' to your body?"

"Certainly I would beat him before that ever happens. I'm a CPU after all. So my strength could easily outmatched him."

"B-But!"

 ***Knock* * Knock***

"You know I can hear you." A familiar voice comes from the other side of the door.

 _Could it be!? No, that should be impossible…_

"Who's there!?" Chika angrily shouts to the person.

 **Nirito's POV**

"What a great beginning to a new day…" I sigh and open the door.

I am met with a light skinned woman with very long, curly mint colored hair worn in a high ponytail with a black and green twin-bow piece with few bangs and long curls of hair framing her face. Her eyes are an almond-red color. She wears a revealing black dress with long boots and gloves that end at her wrist, along with a black neck piece with a white sphere in the center that has a small green x in the center and two small pieces of purple cloth. On both hips, she has black ribbon-cloth segments that have longer cloth pieces dangling from both sides with green sparkled coloring inside. The skirt is practically non-existent on the dress, being a simple cloth in front of her lower area. The expression on her face looks quite hostile.

"Hello ma'am. Hello Vert." I give both of them a small wave.

"Nirito… H-How?" Vert looks at me wide-eyed in shocked.

Unlike before, Vert is now wearing an emerald green dress with gold markings. Big/loose light green and white gloves and along the top part of her skirt is a big peach/orange bow. Around her neck she wears a big piece of white collar with green lining around the bottom and a very thin white cloth connecting the dress and neck piece together. At the center is a gold circular piece with a small blue gem in the center and tiny red ribbon with gold in the center.

"How? What do you mean?" I ask.

"How are you able to walk after one day? You were severely injured. It should have taken at least a week or so till you can be back on your feet." I can see a bit of tears forming in her eyes.

"Um… I'm just a fast healer that's all."

"But the injury was so severe. It should at least take a few days even though you're a fast healer."

"I'm quite well versed in martial arts which have taught me to strengthen my body over the years. So that claw attack was nothing more than a scratch." I tell her the truth, but also a lie.

"Oh… I see." Vert gives a smile signaling the end of the interrogation. "I'm glad you're alive Nirito… I'm sorry you got injured because of me."

I walk past the green haired woman and pat Vert on the head. "Don't worry about that Vert. I didn't get injured because of you. I got injured because it was my choice to protect you."

"Nirito…" We both stare at each other, not willing to say anymore. It's like we are in our own little world.

 ***Cough* *Cough***

We both got out of our little trance and I retract my hand from her head.

"Ahem… You're Nirito Haan right? I'm glad you're okay, but would you stop looking at my Vert that way." The green haired girl gives me a fake smile.

 _Scary…_

"Ch-Chika it's not like!" Vert has an interesting shade of red on her face.

"I'm sorry Vert, but one rival is hard enough. I don't need a second one to worry about."

"Don't worry I'm not planning to be a rival." I assure her.

"Good. I don't want a Beast as a rival."

 _Beast?_

"So you're Chika Hakozaki. You're the oracle if I remember, nice to meet you." I held out my hand.

"Nice to meet you too…" Chika gives the fake smile again and takes my handshake.

"Ow…" What the hell kind of grip is that? It's like she's choking the life out of my hand. I hope to the goddess that she isn't a yandere.

 _I don't need a Yuno in my life…_

She eventually lets go of my hand, which I lost all feeling. I turn back to Vert.

"By the way how much?" I ask Vert.

"How much?" She tilts her head in confusion.

"The medical bill of course." I take out my wallet.

"No, no! Don't worry about it!" She shakes her head side to side. "Keep the shirt as well. We have lots of those. Don't worry, your clothing should be back in a day or two.

"I see… Thanks." I bow my head.

"So what are you gonna do now? Since it seems like you're up and running."

"Well I think I should go. I don't want to intrude too much. Plus, I also have a game to play." I reach for my pocket. "Huh?" I check all of my pockets, but the game I bought is nowhere to be found. I begin to panic.

"Hmhmhm…" Vert is covering her mouth giggling to herself.

"What's so funny?" Chika asks her.

"Yeah this is a matter of life and death here!" I say still in panic mode.

"Here." She goes over to her desk and picks up something. She hands it over to me.

"This is my game. Where did you get it?"

"You left it back at the café. You have keen senses, but you can be pretty forgetful at times Nirito."

"Thank you Vert! You don't know how worried I was. I owe you one!" Whatever panic I have is now gone and I'm filled with joy.

"Hmmm… Can it be anything?" Vert asks.

"Sure! Huh?" I wasn't really thinking when I answered her back. I caught my mistake, but it was too late by then.

 _What have I done!?_

Vert gives a mischievous smirk. "Well then I would like to ask you something. Chika would you be a dear and leave us so we can have a 'private' talk."

"Wait! I can't allow this! I can't leave you alone with him!"

 _Yes Chika! Save me and my purity!_

"Chika if you don't leave, then I won't play video games with you anymore." Vert threatens her.

"Okay…" Chika looks defeated. She turns around and walks out the door. Before leaving, she gives me the death glare.

"Chika wait!" I yell out to her.

 ***Slam***

I look as the door closes. I turn back to Vert and she has the most evil grin I have seen my whole entire life. She walks slowly to me.

"Uh… Um…" I can't say a word right now. I'm madly blushing right now.

This isn't like the time in GameStart where I'm able to keep my composure. She basically touched my arm with her chest last time, but I had enough willpower to resist the temptation. This time though, I got a feeling this might turn into one of those hentai anime.

"Hey Nirito…" Vert's face is close to mines right now.

"Y-Yes?" I somehow managed to answer her back.

"I would like to make an offer…" Vert says in seductive tone.

"O-Offer?" My heart feels like it's about to explode.

Vert puts her hands on my chest. "Would you…" She slowly inches her face towards mines.

"be…" I can feel her breath under my chin.

"my…" Her lips are now about two inches away from mine. She pauses for a moment then says…

…

…

…

"bodyguard?"

* * *

 **A/N: How do like that cocktease? I know there might be some of you readers who called it. So I tip my hat to you. Also, if you hadn't realized yet, I tend to put a lot of references from anime, games, and other things. If you were able to pick out those references then more power to you. As always thank you for reading!**


	6. Raining Neps

**Chapter 6:** Raining Neps

Vert puts her hands on my chest. "Would you…" She slowly inches her face towards mines.

"be…" I can feel her breath under my chin.

"my…" Her lips are now about two inches away from mine. She pauses for a moment then says…

…

…

…

"bodyguard?"

* * *

"Huh?" Vert takes her hands off my chest and step back a few inches. I stare at her, dumbfounded. I didn't hear her due to my brain blue screening from the plot overload.

"Hm? Did you say something Nirito?" Vert tilts her head and looks at me with a question mark above her head.

"Um… W-What d-did you say a few lines ago?" I manage to say this sentence as my brain reboots.

"My, my is your head in the clouds Nirito? You shouldn't ignore a lady you know. You'll lose relationship points with her."

 _Is she playing dumb with me right now? Then…_

"Oh I'm sorry milady. I was too busy admiring your beauty that everything else got muted." I bow to her.

 _How do you like that payback?_

"Oh my, that was an unexpected 180…" Vert blushes and puts her hand to her cheek.

"So did I just regained those relationship points with that line." I triumphantly smirk.

"Muuuu…" Vert pouts. "You got me good. It was corny, but you got me fair and square. I'm quite surprised though. I thought you were a dense main protagonist."

"I would like to say I'm not one of those dense main protagonists. However, it's all up to the writer of this fic… What makes you say that?"

"When we first met at GameStart, you seemed unfazed by my little 'trick.' It's usually super effective against men."

 _So that was a deliberate trap!_

My eye twitches. "I used to have a friend who has the same personality as you. I've built up quite a mental barrier over the years spending time with her. This time though, you just caught me off guard with your superb acting skills." I sigh at my weakness.

"Acting!? You're so mean Nirito! I put my heart and soul into this confession and you just stomped on my feelings like that!" Vert covers her face with both of her hands and starts fake crying. "You meanie!"

"…"

 _This woman…_

Vert removes her hands from her face and gives a mischievous smile. "Just kidding~ So did you like it?"

"…" I give a slight blush and turn my eyes away.

"Hentai~" Vert giggles.

I sigh. "Do you usually treat people you met a day ago like this?"

"Nope I'm just giving you and the readers some fanservice. Besides I find you very amusing to tease." Vert sticks out her tongue at me.

I laugh a little. "Well I'm the main character after all."

* * *

Somewhere in the skies above a vast, blue ocean there are two flying figures. One with purple hair and blue eyes in what seems like a black and purple one piece swimsuit. The other one with lilac hair and blue eyes in what seems like a white and lilac one piece swimsuit.

 **Nep Jr.'s POV**

"Sis are we there yet? I'm getting pretty tired." I whine to my older sister.

"We are almost there Nep Jr. You got to tough it out a little bit longer." My sister tells me.

"Why are we going to Leanbox again?"

"We are going to Leanbox to punish the person who is responsible for stealing my role as the main character. They should know their place!" My sister gives an evil grin.

"Goodness… Oh! I see Leanbox in the distance!" I point towards a futuristic city in the distance.

"About time… You know we should have taken the Terraportation." My sister is starting to show her tiredness.

I remind her. "Didn't you say it was more time consuming and it would have taken more chapters to get here?"

"Well thinking about it now, I'd rather go on the ship eating delicious pudding and relaxing than wasting my energy flying a lot miles over the sea." My sister closes her eyes as she starts fantasizing.

I tiredly giggle. "Well Neptune will always be Neptune no matter what form she is in…"

* * *

 ** **Nirito's POV****

"Let me ask again… What did you say in the beginning of the chapter?" I ask her again so we can keep this story going.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot that!" Vert knuckles her forehead.

"…" I facepalm myself.

"I basically told you to be my bodyguard." Vert says so casually like it has been already decided.

"No." I say with a blank face.

"Great! You can start tomor… Huh?"

"No." I repeat myself.

"…"

"Well I got things to do and grinding to get done. Thank you for taking care of me." I turn around facing the door. "Oh I'll come by for the rest of my clothes later. See ya!"

"Wait! You said you would do anything!" Vert grabs my sleeve.

"I did say that, but this is a 'life changing' thing. Plus I'm not confident in my abilities to protect someone let alone a goddess." I try to reason with her.

"Well from what I saw yesterday, you are really skilled at fighting. You are more than qualified to become my bodyguard."

"But…" Vert lets go of my sleeve, signaling me to stop.

"You said 'anything' remember? At least hear me out please." Vert pouts and looks at me with puppy dog eyes.

 _I guess I should hear her out at least…_

"Fine…"

"Thank you!" She has a bright smile on her face. "Well should we talk this over some tea and biscuits?"

"Sure. I haven't eaten yet."

 ***Growl***

As on cue my stomach growled. "Hahaha…"

"Well I'll prepare the tea. Let Chika in for me." Vert points towards the door.

I open the door. "Ah!" Chika falls down in front of me.

"Were you trying to listen in on us?" I extend my hand to her.

 ***SMACK***

Chika slaps my hand away. "What did you do to my Vert you Beast!?"

 _This Beast nickname again…_

"Don't worry I didn't do anything to her."

"You liar! I know you did something! Fess up!" Chika grabs my shirt collar and starts strangling me."

 _My yandere senses are tingling…_

"Vert… help me… please!" It's getting hard to breathe.

Vert puts both of her hands to her cheek and blushes. "We both had a wonderful time~. I didn't expect Nirito to be so bold~"

"WHAT!? Y-YOU BEAST!" Chika increases her grip on my collar.

"G-Gah… c-can't… breathe…" I think I'm gonna pass out at this rate.

"Just kidding!" Vert giggles.

"What?" Chika releases her grip.

 ***Thud***

I fall unconscious to the floor. A little spirit dangling out of my mouth.

…

…

…

* * *

"Huh… Where am I?" I wake up to find myself relocated at a balcony. I'm sitting down at a table with tea and a few snacks in front of me.

"Oh Beast has waken up." The voice belongs to Chika who is drinking her tea.

"Don't call him that Chika. He didn't do anything wrong." Vert tells Chika.

"I know, but I can't trust him. He could have unleashed his animalistic desires when you two were alone."

"But he didn't." Vert corrects Chika.

I speak up. "Um… How did I get here?"

"Oh I carried you here. You are quite heavy you know." Vert apparently carried me all the way to the balcony from her office… Sounds legit.

 _Wait… Did she call me fat?_

I take a sip of my tea and a bite of my biscuit. Then, I turn my eyes towards Vert. "So have you told Chika about what happened earlier?" I ask her.

"Yes, I explained everything to her." I turn to Chika.

"So you want to be Vert's bodyguard." She crosses her arms. "To be honest, I don't like you."

 _Gee thanks, I like you too…_

"I don't approve of you being in charge of my darling Vert's protection. However, I can't really deny her, because Vert has higher authority over me."

 _Oh yeah… Vert is a goddess._

"So after talking with Vert about it, we decided to test you. Basically defeat an enemy of my choosing and you'll become Vert's bodyguard. If you lose, you will di- I mean you will never ever see Vert again."

 _I heard that!_

I whisper to Vert. "Wait a minute here! I'm pretty sure I said 'no' to your offer."

She whispers back. "I might have said something a 'bit' different to her."

"Stop whispering to her Beast! It's time to start your test!"

 _So I become a bodyguard or Chika kills me. Well I guess I would choose…_

"NEPU!" I hear a different voice from somewhere.

"Huh?" I look around, seeing nothing except Vert and Chika.

 _That's odd… I feel a presence, but where is it?_

"Did you girls hear something?"

"No." They both say at the same time.

"Watch out! It's raining Neps!" A childish voice rings in my ears.

I look up, but it was too late.

 ***CRASH***

* * *

 **A/N: As always thank you for reading!**


	7. Stupid Main Character Dilemma

**Chapter 7:** Stupid Main Character Dilemma

 _So I become a bodyguard or Chika kills me. Well I guess I would choose…_

"NEPU!" I hear a different voice from somewhere.

"Huh?" I look around, seeing nothing except Vert and Chika.

 _That's odd I feel a presence, but where is it?_

"Did you girls hear something?"

"No." They both say at the same time.

"Watch out! It's raining Neps!" A childish voice rings in my ears.

I look up, but it was too late.

 ***CRASH***

* * *

"Ow…Ow…Ow…" Once again, I find myself on the floor. The last thing I remember is that I heard a sound coming from above. When I look up to the source of the sound, something hits me and knocked me to the floor. However, the impact wasn't that hard, so no bones were broken…yet.

"Phew! That was a close one. Thank the author for putting a convenient pillow to cushion my fall." I hear a childish and somewhat carefree voice on top of me.

"Hey I'm no pill-!" I open my eyes and I'm greeted with…

 _Purple stripes…_

"Hey buster! What are you looking at!?" The girl gets off the ground and fixes her skirt.

 _Is she a mind reader!?_

"Nope! This is my power as the main character! Though the drawback is that it only works in plot convenient times…"

 _What a scary power…_

This girl who claims to be the main character is a fair skinned girl with light purple eyes and a matching shade of hair. It is shoulder length with somewhat messy bangs with many strands sticking up and few framing her face. She wears two gamepad-shaped hairclips. Her dress is deep purple with lilac lining along the bottom, center, top, and pockets, along with white spiked edging at the hem. She wears a white, short-jacket over this with a big N button, purple plug like strings, and purple lining and buckles on each shoulder sleeve. Around her neck is a simple white choker. Her lilac shoes have blue and white accents and were also worn with blue and white striped stockings. On her wrist she has white bracelets with a soft spiked material and small powder blue spots in the center.

"Main character huh…" I get up from the floor and dust myself. "I'm pretty sure I'm the protagonist of this fan fiction."

"So it's you huh?" The purple haired girl looks at me like I'm being analyzed by a machine. "I'm quite disappointed. You just look like a boring generic NPC." She looks at me unimpressed.

"Generic…" This girl is kinda getting on my nerves. "Um… Excuse me little girl. Why did you suddenly fell from the sky?" I give a fake smile, obviously trying to hide my irritation.

"How dare you call the heroine a little girl! I may look like a loli right now, but when I transform, I bet you will be speechless! Also, you don't look too old yourself!"

 _Right now? Transform?_

"I'm 21." I say while regaining my composure. "Hey Vert, do you know this girl?" I turn towards Vert and Chika who were still drinking their cup of tea.

"So Neptune what brings you here today?" Vert says casually as if she's already used to this.

 _Neptune? Where have I heard that name before?_

"Hey Vert! Who is this guy!?" Neptune asks a question to go on top of the pile of other questions.

"This gentleman here is Nirito Haan and he's my bodyguard."

"Hey wai-" I try to say, but suddenly a flash of light enters my field of vision.

"Hey sis! Are you okay?" I turn around and see a girl with long lilac-purple hair almost waist in length with few loose strands of long hair curling down. Her bangs are neatly brushed. Her eyes are the same color as Neptune's. Her outfit resembles a school uniform consisting of a white jacket-dress with purple lining consisting of thin double white stripes. A white choker, and around her neck is a pale yellow ribbon/ascot like piece with an N in the center. At her chest is a small pink marking while the pockets and buttons are purple. On her right leg is a white belt like purse object and she wears pink and white striped socks with white and purple shoes very similar to Neptune's own. In her hair she wears a single direction pad button while unlike Neptune who wears two.

"Hey Nep Jr.! I'm fine and dandy. What took you so long to get here?"

"Sorry sis… I kinda had to slow down back there…" Nep Jr. bows her head apologetically.

"Um… Who are you exactly?" I ask Nep Jr. Hoping that I would get answers to this whole ordeal.

 _She's also quite familiar, but I can't seem to grasp it though._

Nep Jr. brings her head back up. "Oh I'm sorry mister I didn't see you there. My name is Nepgear, but my sis usually calls me Nep Jr." Nepgear's attitude is much more mature and quite shy compared to Neptune's energetic behavior.

"My name is Nirito Haan. By any chance are you Neptune's little sister?"

Nepgear looks at me surprised. "Yes. How did you know? People usually think I'm the older sister."

"Well I got a feeling that it might be one of those situations like Mario and Luigi."

"I see…"

"Anyways, what are you two doing he-" Once again, someone cuts me off by pushing me to the side.

"My, my nice to see you Nepgear! What brings my favorite little sister to Leanbox? Did you come here to see me?" Vert goes up to Nepgear and gives her a hug.

"Wait Vert! Neptune is my older sister! Hyaaaaaaaa~ So comfy~" Vert's breasts envelop Nepgear and she seems to like it. I just stand there, speechless.

 _I have no words for this…_

"Hey Vert!" An angry Neptune stomps towards the two. "Stop taking my little sister you thief!" Neptune separates Vert and Nepgear from each other.

"I'm really sorry sis!" Nepgear bows her head apologetically again.

"Tch…" Vert on the other hand is unhappy. I look back at Chika and find her quite unhappy as well, but I'm pretty sure that's for a different reason.

"Can we get back to the main story please…"

* * *

After that event, we decided to call a truce for now. The girls cleaned up the table while I picked up the broken chair pieces off the floor. We all sat down and started the interrogation.

"What brings you two to Leanbox?" Chika asks the question because I apparently tend to get cut off a lot.

Neptune speaks up. "We are here to bring divine punishment!" She points to me.

 _Huh?_

"Interesting… My darling Vert, I need to discuss something with you." Chika grabs Vert and brings her to the other side of the balcony.

"Divine punishment? What did I do?"

"You are robbing me of my main character role. So for that, you deserve some sweet, sweet punishment." Neptune uncharacteristically licks her lips.

 _Why do I have a feeling another character in a different dimension is losing their trait?_

"Sis, isn't divine punishment a little too much? Can we just talk it out without anyone getting hurt?"

 _Nepgear is such a good a girl… I hope she doesn't end up like her big sister…_

"She's right. Is the main character role that important to you?" I ask her.

"Of course being the main character is important! If you're a side character, you will only get to appear in only a few chapters! You won't get as much fans as the MC and the side characters always die by episode 2!"

 _Die by episode 2? What has she been watching!?_

"Does it only have to be one MC? Can we just both be the main characters? There are stories where there are more than one MCs."

"That's true and I'm usually cool with that, but…"

"But?"

"I can't accept a colorless looking guy being a MC. It brings a bad taste to my mouth."

"Um… What?" I'm confused by her reasoning on this.

 _I'm getting a headache from this stupidity…_

"Sis what do you mean?" Nepgear is confused as well.

"A main character needs to be one thing and one thing only... unique. I don't see anything unique in you. You lack color is what I'm trying to say."

"I see…" Nepgear looks at me. Our eyes meet and she quickly looks away. She has a slight blush in her face.

I massage my forehead. "This conversation is idiotic. I'm going home." I get up from my chair and start heading towards the balcony door.

"Wait Beast! I thought you want to be Vert's bodyguard. You still have to do the test." Chika calls out to me.

"First, I never said I want to be her bodyguard. Second, I don't want to take the test. I hate tests with a passion."

"Nirito… You said you would hear me out…" Vert says in a sad tone.

"I'm sorry Vert. I said I will hear you out, but this is dragging out for far too long. I told you I got things to do." I reach for the door knob.

"Well I guess he's nothing more than a Kirito rip off." I hear Neptune from a distance.

I stop dead in my tracks. "What?"

"Oh ho ho? So this got your attention…" Neptune smirks. "Hey Mr. Wannabe Kirito! Why did stop!? I thought you have things to do!"

"Hahahahaha…" Something snaps within me.

"Nirito?"

"Mr. Nirito?"

"Beast?" Everyone is confused by my sudden burst of laughter.

"Hahahahahahaha…" I turn around to face Neptune. "Them's fighting' words Neptune." I give an evil smile.

"Oh you hate Kirito from Blade Art Online that much?"

"Blade Art Online? I'm sorry Neptune, but that title doesn't exist in this fan fiction universe."

"Nepu!? Y-You monster! What did you do!?" Neptune is shocked at this development.

"Hahahaha..." I turn towards Chika. "Hey Chika on second thought, I would like to take the test. However, only if I get to fight Neptune. I now have beef with her."

"Well actually… I planned on asking Neptune to be your opponent the moment she arrived here." Everyone looks towards Neptune to see what her answer would be.

"Bring it on buster! You still have to receive your divine punishment!" Neptune is all fired up.

"Um… Can everyone just be friends?" I'm sorry Nepgear, but your sister has induced my wrath.

 _No turning back now._

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Neptune fans before you get mad on the way I portray her in this chapter, here me out. I actually like her as a character and find her very funny. I say she is in my top 5 of favorite anime main characters. Right now though, I need her to play the villain role. Don't worry she won't be like this forever in the story. Also, I'm sorry if the chapters are short. I tend to spend a lot time editing each chapter thinking of ways of how to make it better. Basically I choose quality over quantity. The chapters may be short, but I never told you how many chapters there will be. As always thank you for reading!**


	8. Clash of the Main Characters

**Chapter 8:** Clash of the Main Characters

"What am I doing with my life…" I sigh.

"What's wrong Nirito?" Vert asks.

For the test, we all decided to go to one of the sparring rooms in the Basilicom. On the way there, I took the time to evaluate my current situation. I realized that my emotions got the better of me and it clouded my judgment. I let my anger get the best of me and I instinctively challenged Neptune by using the test as an excuse. If I remember, Chika told me if I win, I get the bodyguard position. However, if I lose…

 _Damn it! Where's a quick load option when I need one? How I wish life was like an interactive visual novel…_

"It's nothing important Vert. Just thinking about my life choices." I sigh again.

 _Maybe… Just maybe… I can find a way to get out of this._

"Tsk tsk Nirito. There's no running away now." Vert grabs my wrist. Apparently she knows what's going on in my mind. Probably my facial expression just makes it too obvious.

 _Damn she has a strong grip_. _Wait… Could it be…_

"Did you know this would happen!? Was this a set up the whole time!?"

"Maybe or maybe not~" Vert teases me as she pulls me into the sparring room. "Plus, you already challenged her. So you got to be a man and go through with it."

"Tch… Then I have to fight." I look towards Neptune and Nepgear who were talking to each other on the other side of the room.

"Good boy." Vert lets go of my wrist. "Well I think I should take my seat. Chika is probably gonna be back soon." She puts her hand on my shoulder and whispers into my ear. "Thank you for not leaving. I really appreciate it…" She then continues walking towards the seating area.

"…" I sigh and look towards the sisters.

"Good luck sis!" I see Nepgear walk towards a seat on that side of the room.

"Hey Nepgear! You should sit on this side and help me cheer on Nirito!" Vert motions Nepgear to a seat next to hers.

"But I got to cheer on my real sis…" Nepgear is fidgeting in her seat.

"Isn't it lonely and cold on that side? Come here~ This spot is much warmer~" Vert sets the trap.

"Well… The air vent is above me… I guess I'm bit cold…" Nepgear gets up from her chair and sits next to Vert.

 _Hook, line, and sinker…_

"Hey Vert stop taking my sister!" Neptune is giving Vert a look of jealousy and her fist clenched. I just stand there, looking at the spectacle before me.

After the balcony scene a chapter ago, Chika went off somewhere and told us to wait for her in the sparring room. She told us that she would be the referee since the test was her idea in the first place. Basically, without Ms. Referee, all we can do is play the waiting game until she returns.

 _Oh how I love the waiting game…_

* * *

After a few minutes of silence have passed, save the sound of Nepgear's plead for help due to Vert's bosom 'warming her up,' Chika finally arrives with two weapons in her hands. One being a katana and the other being a wood training sword.

"Phew… That was quite a walk." Chika wipes her beads of sweat with her handkerchief.

"So what are those weapons for?" Neptune asks curiously.

"You are using these for the test. Here…" She hands Neptune the katana.

She unsheathes it. "Oooooo shiny!" The sword is an ordinary katana with a green hilt. It looks rather new and unused. The blade looks really sharp… Like it can easily cut a tree in one swing…

"Here." Chika throws the training sword to me. This piece of wood looks pretty worn and beaten up. It was definitely showing its age.

"Um… I don't know, but… Do you think this is a little unfair?" It's like she wants me to fail.

 _Oh wait… She does…_

"Nope looks pretty fair in my eyes." She retorts.

"…"

 _I'll get her back for this... Someday…_

"Vert… Can you do something about this?" I hold up the piece of wood.

"You got this! Give us good show!" She gives me thumbs up.

 _No help at all… Please Nepgear… Be the voice of reason…_

I look at her. She gives me a simple smile. "I'm supposed to be cheering on my sis, but I believe you can do it."

 _Well I guess I have to make due…_

"Enough delays! We will begin now!" Chika yells.

"Yes ma'am!" Neptune snaps to attention and salutes.

"Okay…" I look back at Chika.

She walks towards the middle of the sparring room. "I'll explain the rules. First, you aren't allowed to use any other weapons other than the ones I gave both of you. Any forms of unarmed combat are allowed. Second, EXE Drives are banned. SP skills are allowed. The third and final rule, don't complain if you die. Am I right Beast?" She looks at me and smirks.

"Don't worry I won't kill her." I assure her, even though I know full well that isn't what she meant.

"Hey Kirito 2.0! Don't go easy on me! Even though I look like a cute slice-of-life protagonist, doesn't mean I'm one." Neptune points her katana at me, emphasizing her point.

"I don't plan on it." I hold up my training sword.

"Hm? Are you supposed to be angry?" She is confused at my lack of emotion.

"I used to have a friend who called me that. He gave me quite a few headaches back in the day… I got used to it over the years, but it still makes me angry. Basically, I'm trying to say is I'm angry, but I can hold my emotions. You just caught me off guard last time."

"Interesting character trait, but not main character worthy." Neptune brings up this subject again.

"Ahem…" Chika interrupts us. "As I was saying… If you break any of these rules, you automatically lose." We both nod. "May the odds be ever in your favor."

 ***DING* *DING***

* * *

The bell rings, signaling us the fight has begun. I get into my usual stance. I throw a weak swing, to see how she reacts. She dodges it and jumps in the air. She swings her sword two-handed in an overhead swing. I side-step to the right and back-pedal. She lifts her sword back up and I look to see that the mat was cut and there was a small crater there. A chill goes down my spine.

 _Holy shit! That's some strength…_

"What the hell! I could've gotten injured!" I'm quite shocked at how she possesses a lot of strength.

 _Just who is this girl?_

"Fufufu… This is the true power of the protagonist! Fear me mortal!"

 _Mortal?_

She takes another step forward, swinging at me. I dodge, and swing at her side. She ignored it, and continued to throw her blade at me.

She is ignoring my attacks. This sword doesn't do enough damage... I can't use any of my SP skills without this weapon breaking in two. Maybe… If I can just disarm her…

"Hiya!" Neptune swings twice more, one sweeping cut and another overhead. I notice something in her overhead. She uses all her body weight in that one swing. If I can just get her to do it again...

"Oh wow, is that the biggest crater you can make?" I taunted. "I thought the main character would be stronger than this." I shrug. "Guess I was wrong."

"How dare you insult the power of the MC. I shall smite thee!"

"Please don't kill anyone sis..." Nepgear sighs.

Neptune swings down, and I side-step once more and before she has a chance to swap it to another sweeping attack, I put my boot on top of it, keeping it lodged.

"Gotcha." I hit her hand with my sword, and she is forced to let go of the katana. I follow it up with a jumping roundhouse kick, though I only barely graze her. I pick up Neptune's sword and toss her the wooden one.

"Nepu! That's cheating!"

"Well the rules say I can only use the weapons Chika provided." I look at Chika. "Am I right Ms. Referee?" I smirk.

"Yes… You are right…" Chika's right eye is twitching. She is clearly pissed at this development.

"Is that how you want to play it buster!? Alright, no attacking when I'm transforming!" Neptune jumps back and does a silly pose.

 _Transform? Wait! Could it be!?_

A pillar of light and data erupts and surrounds Neptune. I instinctively cover my eyes with my arm.

 _Of course… She's the Goddess of Planeptune. Her name is…_

"Prepare yourself." The bright light fades away and a mature voice calls out to me. I slowly remove my arm to look at the person in front of me.

 _Purple Heart…_

* * *

 **A/N: I like to say that every reference I use in this story here is for all in good fun. I don't have any intent of insulting a series. For example, I didn't mean to insult Sword Art Online last chapter even though it seems like it. If this type of thing happens again, keep in mind that I don't have the intention of insulting that series and it's just there for a good laugh. As always thank you for reading!**


	9. Test Results

**Chapter 9:** Test Results

"Is that how you want to play it buster? Alright, no attacking when I'm transforming!" Neptune jumps back and does a silly pose.

 _Transform? Wait! Could it be!?_

A pillar of light and data erupts and surrounds Neptune. I instinctively cover my eyes with my arm.

 _Of course… She's the Goddess of Planeptune. Her name is…_

"Prepare yourself." The bright light fades away and a mature voice calls out to me. I slowly remove my arm to look at the person in front of me.

...

...

...

 _Her name is Purple Heart…_

* * *

"Well… Shit…" I'm screwed… I can't possibly fight a goddess one on one.

"Oh? What happened to your composure Nirito? Is something wrong?" In this form, Neptune sounds more mature and less childish. She also has a serious aura around her. I find this version of Neptune more intimidating than her human self.

 _And hotter as well… Her figure is just so…_

 ***Smack***

"Ow!" Purple Heart slaps me in the face. "What was that for!?"

"I told you that I can hear your inner dialogue at any plot convenient time. Also, just call me Neptune. It's better than saying Purple Heart every time in your dialogue."

"Um…" Caught red handed.

"Hey! What are you two doing!? Neptune start kil- I mean fighting him!" Chika yells from the background.

"Right…" We both say in sync.

I hop back, readying my sword. "To answer your question from earlier, I'm perfectly fine." I hold up the katana with confidence.

"Oh really? Then let's continue. Don't lose too quickly now." She has a cocky grin on her face. She summons out a futuristic black and purple katana.

"Hey now… Isn't that against the rules?" I look at Chika. She has a victorious smirk on her face.

"Nope it's not. That is actually the training sword. Just like Neptune here, the sword simply undergoes a transformation as well."

"Tch…" The really sharp katana in my hand seems really underwhelming compared to that.

 _So the piece of wood has now become deadly… Great…_

"You can do it Nirito!" Vert cheers me on.

"Fighto!" I'm pretty sure Nepgear is also cheering me on. I can bet that Vert converted her when I wasn't looking.

"What did Vert do this time Nep Jr.?" Neptune puts a hand to her forehead.

"Sorry sis… Vert promised me some cool tech if I help her cheer on Mr. Nirito." Nepgear bows her head. "I'm sorry sis…"

"Sigh… I'll deal with you later. Right now I got a fight to win." Neptune positions her sword for another overhead attack. I position myself to dodge it. However, just then…

"What!?" She instantly disappears and reappears right in front of me

"Blaze Break!" Her sword lights on fire and swings it down upon me.

 ***CLING***

My only option was to quickly block it. However, due to my feet not being properly anchored…

 ***CRASH***

"GAH!" Due to Neptune's increased strength in this form, I was immediately launched into the wall. It made the biggest crater of this entire fight. The immense force of the impact was obviously hard enough to knock me into my hands and knees.

 ***Cough* *Cough* *Cough***

Right now I'm coughing up a bit of blood. Blood is also streaming down my head and onto the floor. The impact should've broken every bone in my body, but I luckily managed to use that 'skill' at the last second.

Neptune floats over to me. "So is that crater good enough for you?" She looks down on me.

I grab the katana that I dropped and used it as a support cane to lift myself up. "Not bad I say… I got to hand it to ya… You almost got me there…" I stand back up, wobbling a bit before regaining my balance.

"Interesting… I'm pretty sure I broke every bone in your body." She looks a bit surprised. I look towards the seating area and yep… Vert, Nepgear, and Chika are shocked as well.

"It takes a lot to kill me you know." I smirk, positioning the katana for an attack.

"Still have some fight in you I see." She backs up.

"Not so fast! Assault Strike!" I lunge forward, aiming at Neptune's arm. My goal is to make her unable to battle without causing any permanent damage.

 _I'm such a softie at times…_

 ***CLING***

"Damn…" She blocks my attack at the last second with her blade. "How bout this! Cross Slash!"

"Nope that won't work." She flies up in the air, completely avoiding my skill. She lands, but I didn't give her time to take a breather.

"Assault Strike!" I try this skill once more.

"Dual Edge!" However, she blocked the attack with her own, canceling each other's attack.

 ***CLING*** ***CLING* *CLING***

I unleash a barrage of attacks. I'm hoping for an opening, but she doesn't let up. I've only managed a few light cuts on her. She either blocked or dodged most of my attacks. The rate of my attacks keeps decreasing as my stamina slowly depletes. Neptune realizes this and unleashes her own barrage of attacks. The cuts weren't that bad, but it started to be a problem as more cuts are added.

"Tch…" I jump back and used the katana as a cane.

"Sorry no resting for you. Critical Edge!" She dashes towards me.

 _Damn it… I just need a moment to heal up…_

She does a combo attack. For some reason it reminds me of a blade dance I read in a book a long time ago. I backflip the first swing and took a step back for the second. For the third swing, the lunge attack, I didn't have the energy to dodge it so I blocked it.

 ***CLING***

The last swing knocks me back a few feet. I put one knee to the floor. I can feel the pain is now starting to catch up to me from all those cuts. I look terrible; the shirt looks like it has gone through a wood chipper. Neptune on the other hand is in much better shape than me, save a few cuts. Her expression right now is…

 _Happy?_

"Why are you smiling? It's kinda creepy." I wonder if she is a sadist.

"This fight is so much fun! I never had a fight this intense since the fight against Arfoire!" She is really fire up. This could be bad…

"I see…" Now I'm officially screwed…

 _Well at least I tried… I hope someone wrote an eulogy for me._

"You know what… I think I can approve of you now."

"What are you talking about?" I'm confused.

"You are an interesting person Nirito. No human has had a fight with a goddess for this long. They usually lose after one shot. So after much thinking, I've decided to share the role with you." She holds out her hand for what I think is a handshake, but it could trap.

 _This subject again?_

"Um… Thanks… I guess…" I decided to not budge an inch. I'm not dumb enough to fall for what seems like a trap. Also, I'm kinda in pain right now and moving hurts like hell right now.

Neptune looks at me a bit disappointed. She retracts her hand. "Well that's if you survive this." She readies her sword. "This fight has been fun, but I think it's time for the grand finale."

 _This is gonna be bad…_

"This is my special! Neptune Break!" The floor under Neptune begins to glow a purplish aura around her.

 ***DING* *DING***

Just when I was about to meet my demise, a bell sound interrupts Neptune's focus. The purplish aura around her dissipates. She also has a mixture of confusion with a hint of anger on her face.

"What happened?" I'm also confused as well. We both look at Chika for clarification.

Chika gets up from her seat. "The fight is over." She looks really depressed.

Vert gets up and pulls Nepgear along. "Neptune broke a rule."

"What rule did sis break?"

"Can it be? Did Neptune try to use an EXE Drive?" I ask. We all look towards Neptune.

Once again, a bright light blinds me. I quickly cover my eyes and remove them as the light slowly fades away. Neptune has transformed back into her human form. "Heh heh… I dun goofed haven't I?"

"Yes you did Neptune…" Chika massages her forehead.

"So did I win?"

"Sadly… Yes… The winner of this fight is Beast… Congrats you passed the test…" It sounds like Chika was having a hard time saying those words.

 _Wow… That was a dumb way to win a fight. Well I shouldn't complain. I would've died if I lose._

"Aw shucks… I really messed up back there. Well you win some, you lose some. Am I right buddy?" Neptune looks at me.

"Buddy!?" Vert, Nepgear and I say in unison.

"Woah! Chill out friends. Let Neps explain to you." I got a feeling we will be here a while.

* * *

One long explanation later…

"The end…" Neptune finally finishes.

"I see…" I say.

"Do you know what she was talking about?" Vert whispers in my ear.

"Nope. I lost her when she said something about past lives." I whisper.

"But wasn't that the beginning of her explanation?"

"Yes it was…" I look at Nepgear. She has swirls in her eyes. I can bet her brain is fried right now.

Neptune gets up. "Well I think we should get going. Histy is going throw a fit if we're out too long. See ya Vert! See ya new buddy!"

"I'll guide her out." Chika walks over to Neptune.

"Let's go Nepgear! We're leaving!" Nepgear snaps out of her trance.

"Oh wait for me! Bye Vert! Bye Mr. Nirito!" Nepgear does a quick bow before heading to her sister's side.

Chika says. "Hey Vert, I'm going to go to bed after I see those two off. The repair crew will come to fix the room later. I'll handle all this bodyguard paperwork tomorrow. I'm not in the mood right now…"

"Hey isn't it still early for you to go to bed?" Vert says, but Chika ignored it and walks out the door with Neptune and Nepgear. We both waved as they leave.

"Well that just happened…" I lean back "Ow!"

"Be careful your wounds are still fresh." Vert looks worried. During Neptune's long 'explanation,' Vert and Nepgear bandaged me up.

"Okay… So what are we gonna do now?" I slowly get up.

"Well you passed the test right? So you are technically my bodyguard right now." Vert gets up from her chair as well.

"Um…"

"However, I think it should be your decision. Am I right?" Vert looks at me. "So let me ask again. Would you be my bodyguard?"

…

…

…

I sigh. "Sure…"

* * *

 **A/N: As always thank you for reading!**


	10. Opening Pandora

**Chapter 10:** Opening Pandora's Box

"Okay… So what are we gonna do now?" I slowly get up.

"Well you passed the test right? So you are technically my bodyguard right now." Vert gets up from her chair as well.

"Um…"

"However, I think it should be your decision. Am I right?" Vert looks at me. "So let me ask again. Would you be my bodyguard?"

…

…

…

I sigh. "Sure…"

* * *

"I see... Then I'm sorry for troubling yo-… What!?" Vert has a surprised look on her face. "Is my ears deceiving me? For a moment there I think I heard you say sure." Seems like my answer didn't process in her head.

"Your ears aren't deceiving you."

"Then…"

"Yes… I'll become your bodyguard." Vert's face lights up. "Woah wait up a second. I will accept only under one condition."

"I see…" She covers her chest with her arm. "Then… My body is ready…" She says with a shy tone.

 ***Smack***

My hand connected with my face, making an audible noise. "No it's not that Vert…" I hold up one finger. "The condition is that I want you to expect nothing of me."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Even though I'm now technically a bodyguard, I'm not confident in my own abilities in protecting someone. So I won't be making any promises in the protecting department."

"Don't worry you'll gain more experience over time. Then when you hit a certain level, you'll evolve into a beautiful Nirizard." Vert's eyes are sparkling.

 ***Chop***

"Um... No…" I karate chop her in the head, bringing her out of that weird fantasy.

 _If that happens, make sure to hit the B button… Or the B key at least…_

"Ow! You're so mean Nirito." She pouts and puts a hand on her head.

"Sorry I'm not a Pokimon..." I say with a blank face.

"But one day… Through the power of plot convenience! We will transform you into one fine Nirizard!"

 ***Chop***

"Please no human experimentation… I prefer not to be strapped to a table and injected with strange chemicals and… Wow… That is kinda dark…"

"Muuuuuu…" She has one of those cartoonish bumps on her head.

"So do you agree to my condition?" I ready my hand for another karate chop.

She immediately straightens up. "Yes!"

* * *

After our little agreement, the repair crew started filing in. We decided to head out of the sparring room so we won't be a bother to the them. Vert more so because she is the goddess and she has 'two major distractions' with her.

"Oh yeah. Can we head to the medical room? I need some painkillers. My back is starting to hurt." I ask.

Vert giggles. "You sound like an old man Nirito."

My right eye twitches. "Hey now… I got launched back first into a wall by Neptune's Blaze Break attack. I'm lucky that I even survived that."

"Speaking of which… How did you manage to survive her attacks in goddess form? No human can withstand such power from a goddess." She is starting to get suspicious.

"Hmm…" I put a hand under my chin. "I guess you could say it was milk. Trust me it does wonders to your bones."

"Hm?" She stares at me. "First, you manage to out speed a Fenrir. Second, you basically healed a severe Fenrir wound to the back over one night. She narrows her eyes and gets closer to me. "Suspicious…"

 ***Stare***

"Haha… No wonder I'm having back pains. I guess I haven't fully healed yet. Hahaha…"

 ***Stare***

"Um… I'm not sure if this means anything, but…" I show her my ID.

"A top guild member eh?" She backs off. "Well I guess I can leave it at that for today." She turns around. "Shall we head to the medical room? I'll lead the way."

"Sure." We both started walking down the hallway.

…

…

…

"Hey Nirito. I have a question for you." Vert says while were still walking.

"You've been asking a lot of questions today. This is also is the second day since we met. I think you're kinda getting a bit too close to comfort."

"Well I got to learn who's protecting me. Am I right? Also, we are practically friends right now. I don't see any problem."

 _I'm pretty sure employers usually do background checks before they hire someone. So 'professional…' of a goddess._

I sigh. "Ask away."

"What made you change your decision?"

"Hmmmm…" I put my hand under my chin. "I guess I'm a bit interested."

"What do you mean?" She has a question mark above her head.

"What I'm trying to say is…" I get close to Vert. "I find you very interesting."

She blushes an interesting shade of red and quickly turns her head away. She speeds up and puts a bit of distance between us. "Smooth…" She says softly, but audible enough for me to hear.

"I do try sometimes." I smirk. We continue our walk in silence.

 _Sorry Vert… I can't let you know my main reason... Not yet anyway…_

…

…

…

"We're here." Vert points to a door on the right. We both head inside.

"Pretty spacious in here…" I walk towards a medicine cabinet.

 ***Clink* *Clink* *Clink***

"There it is." I reach towards a bottle of painkillers. I take a pill out.

 ***Gulp***

"There we go! I feel better already! Hey Ve-" I feel a warmth envelope my arm. "Vert!?"

"Ni-ri-to-kun~" Vert starts pulling my arm.

 _Kun?_

"Hey! Where are we going!?" I offer a bit of resistance.

"To my 'special' place~" Vert playfully says.

"…" I stop my resistance and let her drag me to wherever her 'special' place is.

 _Could it be? No… It's not 'that.' From the aura I got around her, I got a feeling it's more of a revenge play from my earlier tease._

* * *

At the end of our walk, me more being dragged than walking. We are met with a door at the end of the hallway with a sign that says 'Vert's Room.'

 _Of course…_

 ***Click***

The room like every other room is pretty big in size. The first thing that caught my attention was the overwhelming amount of anime merchandise everywhere. The walls were filled with tons of poster, but most of them were of the yaoi genre. What caught my attention was the anime figurines of characters I recognized. She has her computer setup on the other side with the consoles connected to it. Her bed is on the side of the room and on it was a… Nepgear body pillow…

 _I'm not even gonna ask…_

While I was staring in amazement, I didn't notice Vert heads over to the closet. I think after a few minutes she came back with something behind her back.

"Hello? Earth to Nirito. You there?" She waves a hand in front of me. The other one still behind her back.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

She smiles. "How's my 'special' place?"

"It's like an otaku's paradise."

"Hm? You aren't bothered by my posters?" She asks.

"Not really."

"Don't tell me! You are a yaoi fan as well!" She has that sparkle in her eye. "What's your favorite type of characters!? Naked male butlers?"

"Um… No it's not that…" I immediately shut her down. "I used to live with a friend who has a slight interest in that stuff."

 _How nostalgic… It just feels like yesterday when I bought Aya her first poster. However, the stares I got from people wasn't so much fun…_

"I see…" She looks disheartened.

"By the way. What are you hiding behind your back?" I poke at the piece of cloth sticking out.

"Oh yeah." She readies the thing behind her back. "Well since you are working as my bodyguard and your clothes are torn to shreds. I dug around and found the 'perfect' uniform for you to wear." She shows what's behind her back. "Ta da!"

"Um…" She is showing me right now is a butler uniform. However, the only thing there is the pants and bowtie. "I'm pretty sure I don't need to ask this, but… Where is everything else!?"

"What are you talking about?" She tilts her head. "This is whole outfit right here. So? What do you think?"

"Haha… No." I say in a cold voice.

"My, my Nirito… It seems like you don't know the true value of this uniform."

"Value?"

"As you can see this isn't no ordinary uniform. It's an enchanted butler outfit with enhanced defense and strength."

 _That sounds like a load of bull. Even if it's true, I won't wear it. Just like my current clothes, I don't want my pride to be in tatters._

"No." I say with a bit more emphasis. "Thanks for the suggestion, but I prefer to buy my own outfit."

"Muuuuuuu… Fine…" She is once again disheartened, but it looks like there some fire in her eyes. "Mark my words Nirito! One day you will wear this! And you'll like it!" She disappears into her closet.

I smirk. "Good luck with that!"

* * *

 **Vert's POV**

"Hmhmhm… Someday Nirito, I will make you wear it…" I put the butler outfit in the corner of the closet where my "Four Goddesses Online" cosplay outfits are.

I come out of the room and see Nirito looking intensely at the figurines on my shelf. Then suddenly I remembered something very important that Maria told me back at chapter 4. "Hey Nirito!"

 _I can't believe I forgot this important request!_

"Hm?" He turns to me. "What is it? Don't tell it's about 'that outfit' again."

"No! Not that!" I walk to where he is. "Say… Do you know someone by the name of Maria?"

His eyes widen. "Marie? Yeah I know her. Have you two met before?"

 _Marie? Nickname probably._

"Yeah… During the Fenrir quest, she asked me to find you and make sure you're ok. Well from the looks of it… I say it's more or less."

"I see…" He smirks and whispers something that I didn't hear. "I guess checking in with her is the first thing on my list."

I smile. "Sounds good. You can do that when you transport your stuff over"

"Yeah…" He turns to face the door. "Wait… What?"

"Oh yeah I didn't tell you." I clear my throat. "Well since you are my bodyguard. You are required to stay at the Basilicom. It says on your contract."

"I don't remember signing any contract." He has a confused look on his face. It looks cute that I want to tease him right now, but it serious time right now. So I'll probably save it for later.

 _Besides I still have to get my revenge for what he said to me earlier._

 _"_ _I find you very interesting."_

I blush at hearing that phrase again in my head. I shake my head. "D-Don't worry I'll let you sign it later. Let's say it's not ready yet."

"I see." He nods his head a couple of times. "I guess it can't be helped. I'll move in like you told me to, but you got to help me move and pack. I want to try to get this done today."

"Huh!? Are you asking me, your goddess, your boss, your master to help you move? I'd rather stay here and play video games for the rest of the day."

"I guess I have to play this card huh…" He takes something out of his pocket. The object is rather big to fit in his pocket.

 _I wonder if it's one of those black hole pockets like in games._

"Is that!?" I recognize the logo on that disc box. "Zenoblade Chronicles Z!"

"Yep. If you help me out, then I'll let you play this with me as a celebration for our hard work."

"That's dirty Nirito… Trying to bribe your goddess… And your boss at that." I cross my arms.

"Well it's working isn't it?" He smirks.

"Yes it is! Let's go! The sooner we start, the sooner we finish!" I grab his wrist and pull him with me.

"Haha… This trick always works with her when I need her to do something…" Nirito has a melancholy smile.

 _I wonder who 'her' is. Nirito talks about that person a lot, but doesn't say who 'she' is. Could she be a sibling? A friend? Or perhaps… A lover?_

Nirito interrupts my thinking. "I've never really thought about it before, but I guess you could say this is the start of a new life. My life has quickly changed over the past two days since meeting you Vert."

"Yeah it has… So how does your new life feel?"

"It feels like I had opened Pandora's Box."

"What makes you say that Nirito?"

"I just got a feeling that we'll encounter many problems in the future."

I giggle a bit. "Yeah… Seems like things will become more interesting from now on."

…

…

…

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry about not updating for the past two weeks. Been busy with life right now. Hopefully things will start to slow down and I can start to update weekly again. However, if I need to take a break from the story to complete some life related things, I'll update my main page if I'm on like a hiatus or a story planning period. On a good note... We finally hit chapter 10! Hitting chapter 10 has also marked the end of what you can say is the prologue. You could say the story truly begins now. As always thank you for reading!**


	11. Flashback 1 - Memory of the Past

**Chapter 11:** Flashback 1 - A Memory of the Past

 **?'s POV**

"Memories…"

 _Memories are recollected events of the past. It's like a diary we carry around us forever. It keeps track of our interactions and choices we make in life. The people we meet and the relationships we form to make a bond. However, humans are different compared to me. Their memories will slowly fade away by the sands of time until we forget them one day. Albeit, there are memories they can never forget no matter how hard one tries. Usually they are memories of major periods in our life, being either happy or sad. There are cases where just one painful memory can make the happy ones painful as well by just recalling it. People affected by that, wish for the suffering to end and they can move on with their lives. In most cases they do move on, but there are those memories where people need proper closure to move on. However, there are times where getting closure is impossible._ _The result is that the memory will forever linger in their minds, torturing their souls, until the poor soul finally breaks down._

"Hmm… Now then… How long will 'you' last?"

* * *

 ** **Flashback Begin****

 **Nirito's POV**

 ***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP***

"…" My eyes open instantly at the sound of the alarm waking me from my peaceful slumber. Filled with a bit of anger, I slam down on the snooze button.

 ***Yawn***

"Five more minutes wouldn't hurt…" Just like that I move myself to a comfortable position and let sleep take over. "Zzzzzzz…"

…

…

…

 ***Rustle* *Rustle***

"Hey Nirito-kun wake up!" A soft feminine voice calls out to me. She tries shaking me as an attempt to wake me up.

 ***Rustle***

"Mmmm…" I don't really want to wake up right now. So I ignore her and roll myself, my back facing at the source of the voice.

The girl giggles. "I see… This is old song and dance again. Then…" She gets onto my bed and slowly leans over until her head is above mines. Her long black hair tickling my nose. "Mmph…" She plants a light kiss on my cheek.

"!" My eyes snap open and what sleepiness I have before is now gone. "M-Miss Aya! What are you doing!?" I instantly move my face away from hers, causing her to pout.

"Did you not enjoy it?" Her yellow eyes show a hint of disappointment.

I blush. "I-It's not that… I want to know why you did that…" I wipe my cheek with my hand.

"It's to wake you up silly!"

I calm my heart down after a few deep breaths. "Why did you use such a method?"

Her face shows a bit of anger. "Well it's your fault you overslept again! No matter what method I used in the past, it never worked! However…" She slyly grins. "It seems like I finally found one method that works."

I can feel myself blush again. "Please don't make this a daily thing Miss Aya. My heart can't take it."

Miss Aya pouts. "A-Y-A!"

"Huh?" I look at her with a question mark above my head.

"We aren't at the mansion anymore. I gave you permission to call me Aya ever since we moved here."

I sigh and get up from my bed. "Even though we are away from that 'cage,' I'm still officially your bodyguard and as your bodyguard I can't do that. It's unprofessional of me. Plus, if I start making a habit of that, I will probably let one slip in front of your parents and could get severely punished. They are very scary and I'm already on their bad side ever since bringing you to Leanbox."

Miss Aya is a wealthy high class girl from Lastation. Her family runs a successful corporation called New Dorfa, rivaling Avenir in terms of profits. She is the daughter of the CEO of the company which is her father, Yashiro Kizuna, and is a really good businessman. Her mother, Yukino Kizuna, works for the company, but more in the shadows and is basically the trump card. She uses manipulation as her weapon in corporate meetings and it works really well. Those two are a fearsome combo and a force to be reckoned with.

Miss Aya starts blushing as she starts recalling what happened a year ago. "Well… Can you say it again? Like last time… Please Nirito-kun~" She looks at me with innocent eyes.

 _Those puppy dog eyes again…_

I feel my blush getting redder. "A-Aya…" I say softly, but audible enough for her to hear.

She smirks. "See was that so hard?"

 _Yes... Yes, it was…_

I sigh. "I'm worried that I'm spoiling you too much…"

"Nah!" She pats me on the back. "At least I didn't become a spoiled rich brat, thanks to you!"

 _I'm not a parent you know…_

"Shouldn't we hurry? Xiang is probably waiting for us in front of the guild already." I try to change the subject.

"How about the twins?" She asks.

"They called me last night and said they had family business to attend."

"I see… Well I'll start making breakfast. While you clean yourself up. Unless…" She smirks again at me. "You want me to take a shower with you~"

"Please no…"

 _If that were to happen, then I would die by nervousness…_

"Aww…" She pouts in disappointment. "Fine…"

* * *

 ** **Xiang's POV****

"Guns… Check!"

"Swords…" I pull out two swords, from one sheath. "Check!"

"Explosives… Check!"

"Fabulously cheap suit… Check!"

"Taser…"

 ***ZAP***

An evil grin forms across my face and my crimson red eyes lights up. "Check!"

"Noire poster…" I turn around facing my wall. "Tilted…" I run my hand over my spiky white hair in frustration. I went over to my poster of Noire and adjust it back into place.

 _There we go! Now my mind can be at peace._

I look at my phone and check the time. "Shit! I'm late!" I quickly grabbed my gear and a piece of bread and bolted out the door.

* * *

 ** **Nirito's POV****

"He's late!" Miss Aya is tapping her foot in anger.

"Well you know Xiang. He's always like this. Let's head inside for now." We are in front of the guild building right now, waiting for Xiang. I decided it would be best to head inside right now because I'm in a suit right now and the summer heat is killing me.

"Sounds good… The heat is really killing me right now." Miss Aya tries to fan herself with her hand, but it's not really having an effect.

She wears a lilac-color, strapless dress with a black piece of fabric going across the breasts and down to her stomach, below an intricate coat. This coat is made up of violet and plum shaded components, reaching as far down as the hem of her dress but also leaving some areas open which expose the dress below. Above that she wears a collar of the same violet of her coat, outlined in lavender with a red jewel securing the collar in place. It appears that the components that go over her detached black sleeves are connected to this collar. These components that go over the black sleeves appear to cover them completely except for at the wrist and hand where it joins to her finger. She wears plum stockings, which have, much like the rest of her outfit, whorls etched on. They go up under the dress and are connected by something triangular. On her hair she has a butterfly pin that I bought for her 15th birthday which was last year. Speaking of which, I'm 16 of the time this flashback is happening, but I digress.

"Ladies first…" I hold the door open for her.

"Ara, ara how gentlemanly of you Nirito-kun~" She goes in and I follow her in afterwards.

I wave to a girl behind the quest counter. "Good afternoon Marie!"

"Hello Maria-san." Miss Aya bows.

"I keep telling you its Maria! Please get it right!" Marie looks at me in anger.

"You know that will never happen." I smirk.

"Ugghhh… Well good afternoon Aya. I keep telling you just call me Maria, don't need to add 'san' at the end." She smiles at her.

 _Hey now… What's with that difference in attitude…_

"Sorry… It's kind of a habit of mine." What she said is true. Ever since she was little, her parents had drilled proper etiquette into her that this became part of her personality. I call it her princess persona. She acts like this in front of people, but…

 _Well for me… I'm the exception. I know cliché isn't it?_

"Where are the others?" Marie looks behind us.

"The twins have family business today and Xiang is running a bit late." I answered.

"I see… Well then why don't you start looking through quests while you wait for him?" The quest window pops up.

"Sure." I pat Miss Aya on the head. "Hey why don't you pick out the quest today? I'll wait up for Xiang outside."

Her eyes immediately light up. "Yes sir!"

* * *

"So hot…" I immediately regretted my decision. I remove my sword sheath and set it down next to me as I sit on the outside bench.

"Ow!" I also immediately regretted that because the bench burned my butt upon contact.

"So where is he…" I scan the area around the guild to see if I can spot him in the distance. However, a strand of blond hair caught my attention.

"Hm?" The blond haired woman stood in front of my local GameStart shop. Staring through the window. She is wearing a pair of green sunglasses to match her plain green t-shirt. She also wears a long white skirt that almost reaches the ground, but the black heels gave her that bit of height from doing so.

 _Holy shit… Her 'assets' are just wow…_

"Hey Kirito you in there?" Someone waved their hand in front of my face.

"Woah!" I look at the culprit. "Hey Xiang when did you get here?"

"I've been here for almost 5 minutes trying to get your attention." He smirks. "So what have you been staring at the whole time."

 _Damn it! Did he catch me looking at that girl!?_

"It's nothing really… Just trying to enjoy the summer scenery." I both lied and told the truth to him. I look back GameStart.

 _Huh? She's gone…_

"I see…" He nods a bit. "Well I promise I won't tell Aya."

I let out a deep breath. "Thanks man… You're a lifesaver." Miss Aya is actually really scary when she gets angry. Trust me, I got a front row seat one time.

"I see you're decked out as usual." I point to his various weapons on his person.

Xiang is wearing a suit of various colors, usually white with a red undershirt. He sports numerous holsters underneath, with what looks like a futuristic latch. His footwear usually are normal white dress shoes. He often wears white gloves when doing quests, and carries around some kind of concealment, whether it be a mask or even a pair of shades.

"Dress to impress am I right Kirito?"

 _That nickname again..._

"Yeah, yeah… Let's head in. I'm sweating buckets out here…" I pick up my sword and latch the sheath on my back. "Also, I'm surprised that you're not dead from being out in this sun."

The sword is a special katana made for all bodyguards in the Kizuna family. It has a red hilt with the Kizuna household crest engraved on the blade. The reason why I'm wearing it on my back than my side is because it's more comfortable for me. Also, in my opinion, it gets in the way when I'm fighting if I have it on the side.

"Hoy…" Xiang's eye twitches. "Even though my last name is Kyuuketsuki, that doesn't mean I'm a vampire."

"Whatever Mr. Vampire." I wave my hand.

"Kirito." He retorts.

My eye twitches. "Let's just head inside already."

We both head inside and I immediately crash into the chair that's underneath the air conditioning vent. "Praise the AC gods!" We both chorus.

"Hey you two!" Miss Aya waves from the counter.

"Well that was nice while it lasted..." Xiang states and we both get up to meet up with Miss Aya.

"So what did you pick?" I ask.

"Actually…" She says with a hint of nervousness. "I'm thinking we should try something more challenging today." She shows us the quest objective.

"Kill 5 Fenrir…" I say out loud.

"Hehe…" Xiang laughs quite maniacally. "This is interesting! Sure I'm game!" Both Miss Aya and Xiang looks at me.

"I guess we could give it a shot…" I sigh.

 _Great… Today will be a "fun" day…_

…

...

…

 ** **Flashback End****

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone if you're confused about what this chapter is, it's a memory of Nirito's past. These flashback chapters will tell you scenes of Nirito's past and who his friends are. The flashback chapters are important in the story as well as they will explain some things in which the chapters don't. Also, if you're wondering who Xiang is, he's one of Nirito's friends. He's actually an OC submitted from one of my fan fiction buddies named Katostraphy. He helps me with editing and he's overall a pretty chill guy. Go check him out if you want another interesting fic to read. As always thank you for reading!**


	12. Midnight Errand

**Chapter 12:** Midnight Errand

One week has passed since Nirito's fateful encounter with Vert. He became her bodyguard and life has been going easy on him for once. Well except for Chika giving him a hard time, but ultimately failing at her attempts. Other than that, he had no problems so far and his transition to his new lifestyle went pretty smoothly. Also, for some plot convenient reason, his nightmares had stopped appearing in his sleep suddenly. However, he didn't mind that at all, just only left him a bit confused. Now we find our protagonist in a peaceful sleep in a certain room from a few chapters ago which became his new home.

…

…

...

"Nirito wake up!" Well was in a peaceful sleep…

 ***Rustle* *Rustle***

"Huh!?" My eyes snap open. A light shade of red could be seen in my eyes. "What!? What's wrong!?" I sit up in bed, a bit dazed.

"Finally you're awake." Vert lets out a sigh.

I look at my clock and it reads 1:01 AM. I blink a few times, making sure my eyes weren't playing any tricks on me. Sure enough it still reads 1:01 AM. "So what do want?" I say with a hint of anger.

 _What the hell!? It's too damn early! This better be good Vert!_

"I need you to go to GameStart and line up for a game." She looks at me with pleading eyes.

"I'm going back to bed. Good night…" I lay back down and pull the blanket over my head.

"Please Nirito! You're the only one I can rely on right now!" She says desperately.

"Why can't you do it? I'm really tired right now…"

What I said is true, I did quests by myself yesterday in order to raise Leanbox's shares. Vert offered to come along, but I turned her down due to 'personal reasons.' I didn't tell her my reasons of course. When I made it back from questing, it was already 10 PM. I swiftly changed out of my uniform and crashed.

"Well… I got some last minute paperwork I have to finish up for today." Vert lets out a little laugh.

"Why… didn't you… do… it…" I can feel myself starting to drift off.

"Heh heh… You see… I kinda was in a long raid with my guild on Four Goddesses Online. After that I did a special event that was on today. Also…"

"Zzzzz…"

"My, my he fell asleep…" She ponders a bit. "I guess I should let him sleep. He had a long day yesterday, but…"

In the end the little Umaru in her wins. "Don't fall asleep Nirito! If we can't get it today then it will probably be a long while until GameStart restocks! By that time, players will have a big head start before me!" She shakes me once again.

"Fine!" I yell that's filled with frustration. I jolt up from bed and quickly put on a green t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

 _My hours doesn't even start until 7… I hope I get paid overtime for this…_

"..." Vert looks at me with a hint of fear.

"Is something wrong?" I comb my hair a bit.

"I'm sorry for waking you…" Vert says in a soft voice, but audible enough.

I sigh and pat her on the head. "Don't worry I'm not angry. I'm sorry for yelling at you." I give her a reassuring smile. "I'll get the game for you don't worry. Just finish your work."

She looks up. "Muuuu… You're doing that again." She pouts.

"Well it works to calm people down."

 _Sometimes… Don't quote me on that._

She giggles. "You're really a nice guy Nirito. Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah… Next time don't forget to preorder a copy." I grab my wallet and put on my Mike brand shoes. "Peace!" I wave to her.

"See you soon!"

* * *

"Ughhhhh…" I walk through the doors of the Basilicom like a zombie with a plastic bag in hand. The time right now is 6 AM. I would've gotten back much earlier, but there were some problems with shipment and I had to wait for four hours before they open their doors. Also, it was literally like Black Friday in there. I almost got caught up in the crossfire of a fist fight between two NPCs. Luckily though I made it back with no scratches on me. Was it worth it? No, but...

 _Objective… complete..._

"What are you doing so early in the morning Beast?" Chika greets me with a coffee in her hand.

 _I don't have any energy for this…_

I hold up the bag in front of her, hoping that she will get the message.

"Vert?" She takes a sip of her coffee.

"Yep…" I nod.

"I guess I can go easy on you today." She walks back into her office.

 _Thanks..._

I continue walking down the hall until I reach Vert's office. "I'm home…" I say as I open the door. I look inside the room and find Vert who fallen asleep at her desk.

"Zzzzz…" She is sleeping peacefully.

I drop the plastic bag down on her desk and look over to side. The paperwork she had to finish is piled neatly, all finished. "Good job…" I smile as I put a blanket on her back.

I sigh. "The struggle I had to go through to get this game…" I look at her sleeping face. "Well I guess it was kinda worth it in the end."

"Have a nice sleep 'Lady' Vert…" I say as I close the door.

…

…

…

"So tired…" I walk into my room and flop down onto my bed.

 _Never again I'm going to that war zone called midnight release..._

I pull the blanket over myself and slowly close my eyes. "You know… I should have… bought my own copy of… Halo V..." I drift off into darkness, but...

…

…

…

 ***BEEP* *BEEP***

 _Ha ha ha… I'm gonna burn this world to the ground…_

* * *

 ***Yawn***

"My, my are you feeling okay Nirito?" Vert asks as she finishes a pile of paperwork.

"I feel like shit…" I say truthfully. I adjust my tie because I need some activity to keep me awake.

My current attire consists of a white dress shirt with a the Leanbox logo on the right breast area. Around my neck is a dark green necktie. My dress shirt sleeves are folded up to my elbows and covering that open area is my elbow length black fingerless gloves. I wear black dress pants with a grey belt tightened around it. Due to this being my battle attire as well, I opted to use my dark grey combat boots so I can have better movement. Lastly, around my neck is the same custom made necklace with a certain butterfly pin attached to the string. I kept the necklace under my shirt that no one can really see it except the string.

"I see… That's why you're spacing out today. Sorry about ruining your sleep." Vert looks genuinely guilty.

"It's fine." I wave it off. "Actually I'm surprised on how you can stay awake with your recent gaming marathon. How do you manage that?" I ask curiously.

"It could be I'm a CPU or I'm just used to it." She smirks. "Don't worry though, I'll remember to preorder the game next time. I got this!"

"Thank you…" I let out another yawn. Though that yawn triggers something in me to start spacing out and everything started to turn into a blur. My mind activates its passive mode.

"By the way want to help me with my work?" Vert asks.

"Why?"

"Oh I didn't tell you? We are going to Planeptune today and I need this done by today."

"Why?"

"We have some CPU meeting or something like that."

"Why?"

"Well it's to keep peaceful relations I guess."

"Why?"

"Hey…" Her eyebrow twitches. "Did you space out again?" She gets up from her seat.

"Why?"

 ***Bonk***

"Ow!" I put a hand to my forehead. "What was that for!?"

"You shouldn't fall asleep when a beautiful woman is talking to you." She crosses her arms. "Bad manners."

"Sorry about that." I rub my eyes. "So what do you need?"

"I need you to help me with my paperwork. We have a CPU meeting today." She goes over to her mini fridge. "Here. To keep yourself awake." She tosses an energy drink at me.

"Thanks." I catch the bottle and drink about a quarter of it. "You know I'm not a political person. I probably can't do much." I say truthfully.

"Don't worry. I just need you to stamp some papers and organize them. That's it."

"Let's start then." I grab a chair and put it next to Vert's.

"My, my how bold of you Nirito~" She looks at how close our chairs are.

I sigh. "That's the only spot on the table where I have free room to stamp." I sit down. "Shall we start?"

She giggles. "We shall~" She sits down and we start our work. After a while, I start feeling something 'soft' touching my arm.

"You're doing that on purpose aren't you?" I continue stamping some papers.

"You don't like it?" She teasingly asks.

"Well it keeps me awake and energized."

"Pervert~"

I smile. "Aren't you one too?"

"Touche." We both started laughing.

"So I'm going to a CPU meeting..." I yawn.

"Well you are my bodyguard of course and I plan on introducing you to them today."

"Couldn't have picked a shittier day…" I say sarcastically.

Vert giggles. "Try to stay awake. If you do, I might reward you~"

Instantly, my tiredness leaves me. "Reward!?" Various scenes starts running in my head. I gulp at the thought

"Yes~" She teases.

"..."

 _Challenge accepted!_

* * *

"Done…" I sit back in my chair.

"Shall we go?" Vert gets up.

"Right now!?"

"The meeting is in Planeptune and we have quite a distance to go." She offers a hand to me.

"Thanks." I grab her hand and pull myself up. "So are we going there by ship right?" I ask even though I know where this is going.

"No silly! We are going to take to the skies!" She heads to the balcony.

 _Of course…_

"You better not drop me…" I follow her outside.

"Hmhmhm… We'll see…" She gives an evil grin.

 _I hope I have some damn good insurance…_

A pillar of light blinds me. After it fades away, I see Vert's CPU form in front of me. Her green hair being blown by the wind.

"Shall we go?" She said in a deeper voice and held her hand towards me.

* * *

 **A/N: As always thank you for reading!**


	13. Meetings the CPUs

**Chapter 13:** Meeting the CPUs

"Hey! Hey! Too close!" My foot barely grazes the surface of water. Right now Vert or should I say, Green Heart, is flying right above the vast ocean with me holding onto her hands and dangling down.

"I can't help it! You're kinda heavy!" She complains.

 _Did she just called me fat?_

"I thought you are suppose to be stronger in CPU form!" I look down, a bit afraid of the possibility of Vert letting go of my hand.

 _Wetting my pants should be the least of my worries… Hopefully we're not in shark territory…_

"We goddesses still have limits you know and I've been carrying you for over a hour now!"

"Well… Excuse me princess! It's not like I can start flying on my own!" I'm being a little grumpy due to the lack of sleep.

 _I've should've taken a boat…_

"Oh?" Vert's brow rose. Then suddenly, she flies up high into the air, much to my surprise. Then after reaching a certain height… "Then let's give it a test." She lets go of my hand and I start plummeting towards the sea at a dangerously fast rate.

"AHHHHHH!" As I was about to dive bomb into the water, she catches me at the last second. "I'm saved…" A little spirit hangs out of my mouth.

"Hmph!" She pouts. "You shouldn't be making me angry if I were you." She says in menacing tone.

 _Scary!_

"Sorry! Please forgive me!" I obediently bow my head.

"Good bodyguard." She smiles triumphantly and pats me on the head.

"You know I'm not a dog…" I sigh and give her a smile.

"Hmhmhm~" She giggles most likely at thought of a dog version of me.

…

…

…

* * *

After another whole hour of a banter filled flight, we finally land on the outskirts of Planeptune.

"Finally…" I let out a sigh of relief. "That was a little scary…"

Vert giggles and transforms back into her human self. "Didn't expect me to do that, didn't you Nirito?"

I scratch the back of my head. "Yeah, yeah I'm still sorry for lashing out on you. It's just I'm a wee bit grumpy today if you hadn't noticed."

An evil smirk forms on Vert's face. "You know I'm still quite hurt from your words Nirito~ I don't know if I can forgive you that easily~" She teases.

I roll my eyes. "So what do you want?"

She instantly gives me a intrigued glance. "Can it be anything right?" A mischievous grin forms across her face.

"Fine…" I sigh. "However, nothing too extreme." I say a line once again that I know I will probably regret in the long run.

 _Though knowing Vert... She would butter up the words to make it sound innocent._

"Hmm…" Vert ponders for a bit. "I don't have anything right now, but is it okay if I can use this 'favor' on a later date?"

"Sure… I guess that's okay." I skeptically say.

"Anyways shall we head to the Basilicom?" Vert points to the tall tower.

"Sure. Just stay close to me and don't get separated."

"My, my… You really care about me, don't you~" She teases.

"Well… I'm trying to do my job for once." I sigh.

"True, true." She giggles. "I think this is the first time you actually have to guard me. Make sure the perverts don't get close to me Bodyguard-kun~" She moves up close and crosses her arms underneath her breasts.

 _That's on purpose isn't it..._

"Even though I'm technically a pervert…" I sigh and we both start walking towards our destination.

* * *

"Planeptune has sure changed quite a bit since I last visited." I say as we walk through the Basilicom doors.

"Are you referring to the new mall that just recently opened?"

"Yeah… That too…" I look around, memorizing the layout since I never been here before.

"If I remember it was Histoire's idea in order to raise Planeptune's shares." Vert walks in front of me. "Well follow me. I know where the meeting room is." With a nod, I begin following her.

"So I'm guessing Histoire is the oracle around these parts." I press the button to call the elevator down.

 ***Ding***

We both head inside and Vert presses the button with the big N on it. "Yep. She's like a fairy or something like that."

 _A fairy!?_

"Interesting…" I put a hand on my chin. "Maybe if I ask nicely, she can give me some fairy dust and I can fly myself home."

"No, no…" Vert shakes her head. "I'm pretty sure Histoire isn't like Tinker Bell."

"Tch…" I click my tongue. "Well a man can dream…"

Vert giggles. "If she were to hear that, she would probably throw a 'Histy' fit."

 _Really…_

 ***Ding***

Before I could throw my own 'Histy' fit on how bad that was, the elevator dings, signaling we have reach the designated floor. The door opens revealing a small hallway with the door at the end.

"Let's go." Vert says and we head out. I grab the doorknob and open the door for her.

"You're late Vert!" A familiar childish voice greets her as she walks in.

"Yeah Vert this is really unprofessional of you." Another voice greets her as well. This one having a bit more of an angry tone to it.

"We were about to start without you…" This voice though sounds more emotionless and calm than the other two.

"Oh my greetings to you three as well." Vert retorts. "Sorry for the hold up. I could have been here earlier if it weren't for the extra weight." Her eyes look back at where I was hiding, which is behind the door. The other three girls were confused since they don't know who Vert was referring to.

I step out of my hiding place. "Are you saying that you gain a few pounds?" I retort back to Vert with a smirk on my face.

"Hmhmhm… Sounds like someone is asking for a death wish." She says in her menacing tone.

"I'm kidding." I look to the other three girls. Which one of them I recognize as Neptune "Good to see you again Neptune and what I presume is Noire and Blanc." The other two girls give me a blank stare. This creates an awkward atmosphere.

Neptune blinks a few times. "Hey!" She suddenly shouts and points a finger at me. "I remember you! If I remember, your name is…" She ponders a bit, searching her head for the right name. "Buddy!"

 _Buddy!? Where the hell did she pull that out from?_

"It's Nirito." I correct her.

"Ni-ri-to… O it's Kirito 2.0! I remember now!" She turns to the other two girls. "Don't be shy! Introduce yourself!" Neptune gives the two a little push.

"Hoy Neptune!" The black twin-tailed girl speaks up first. "Ugh fine then!" She looks at me with an analytical gaze.

"Um… Is there something on my face?" I back up, a bit uncomfortable.

"It's you…" She finally speaks up.

"Huh?" I look at her confused.

She immediately blushes and shakes her head side to side. "Don't get the wrong idea! It's not like I'm looking at your face of anything!"

 _What the hell is this typical tsundere line..._

"I see..." I look back at Neptune.

"Sorry about that Buddy…" Neptune lets out a fake laugh. "Noire is always like this. Your typical tsundere."

"Hey!" Noire yells back.

"Wait… Didn't I tell you my name is Nirito?" Neptune ignores me.

The tsundere sighs which grabs my attention back to her. She puts a hand on her hip. "My name is Noire the CPU of Lastation." Noire flips one of her twin-tail. "Well it seems like you already know it though."

"Nice to meet you… I guess… My name is Nirito Haan. Just call me Nirito." I politely bow to her.

"I already know. I heard it before." She retorts.

 _So this is Xiang's idol… Charming..._

I look towards the girl with the brown hair and hat. "I'm guessing you're the CPU of Lowee. Am I correct?"

"Blanc…" She says with no reaction.

"I see… Nice to meet you as well Blanc." I politely bow to her as well.

 _She's quite a doll. I can see why the twins like her._

"So… Are you one of Vert's stalkers?" She asks with a blank face and everyone looks at her in surprise. In the background, I can hear Vert trying to conceal her laughter.

I sigh. "No I'm not a stalker." I look at both Noire and Blanc. "I'm simply Vert's hired protection. A bodyguard is the term."

"Huh!? How did you become a bodyguard for a CPU!?" Noire states in surprise.

"Oh some stuff happened and what not." Vert interjects and Noire glares at me while Blanc keeps her poker face.

"Um…" I'm uncertain on what to say.

"Well that's over with!" Neptune clapped her hands. "Now we got introductions out of the way, we can finally play games!"

"Wait isn't this a CPU meeting?" I look at Vert.

"Well…" She begins.

"This isn't an ordinary meeting!" Neptune intervenes. "You think I would throw some professional like meeting!" Neptune bursts out into laughter.

"I see…" I look at the other girls who were giggling.

"Do you really think NEPTUNE out of all people would throw anything that serious." Noire answers while wiping tears from her eyes.

"Huh?" A question mark pops next to my head.

"You are quite funny Nirito…" Blanc says with a slight smile.

"Hey, hey it sounds like I can't be serious at all…" Neptune pouts. "Anyway enough with this chit chat! Let's get gaming!" She jumps on the couch. The other three sighs and shortly join her.

"So what am I supposed to do?" I ask, still next to the doorway.

"Hmm…" Vert ponders a bit. "Do what bodyguards do I guess?"

"You mean just stand in the corner and space out?" I say with a bit of fake excitement.

"Good point…" She ponders again. "Why not take the day off?"

"Oh?" My ears perk on hearing that.

"After you buy me some things of course!" She tosses over a list. "There are games and other stuff you can get in Planeptune that aren't sold in Leanbox. So using this 'meeting' was a good chance to get them!"

"I see…" I unroll the list and it drops down to the floor.

 _How the hell am I gonna carry all of this!?_

"Oh make sure you get everything on the list and I mean EVERYTHING." She looks at the Neptune, Noire, and Blanc. "By the way, you three want anything?"

"Pudding!" Neptune raises her hand.

"Sure!" Vert tosses me a pen. "Write that down in the open space." I look for an open white space to write down 'pudding.'

 _Where is this open space!?_

I prompted to write on the back of the paper. "Anything else?"

"There are some books I want you to get..." Blanc tells me about ten book titles and I write them down as she names them off.

"How about you Noire?" I look at her.

"U-Um…" She looks side to side with a nervous expression. Then she grabs a piece of paper from who knows where and starts scribbling something down. She quickly gets up from her seat and heads over to hand the piece of paper to me. "Here."

"So you want a cos- Mmph!" She covers my mouth with her hand and gives me a death stare that says…

" _If you say anything, you're dead."_

I give a slight nod. "Good!" She smiles and heads back to her seat with the other girls, who were giving suggestive looks.

"Way to go Noire! Making progress already!" Neptune smirks.

Noire blushes. "Damn it Neptune!" She yells.

Before I get caught up in that shit storm, I put the huge list in my black hole called a pocket and silently sneak out of the room. I make my way towards the elevator and punch the L button. On the way down, a sudden realization hits me…

 _Where is Nepgear?_

* * *

 ** **A/N: As always thank you for reading!****


	14. Missing Rom

**Chapter 14:** Missing Rom

 **Vert's POV**

"Now, now settle down you two." I try to calm Neptune and Noire down.

"Excuse me!?" Noire glares at me. "Neptune insulted me! She is clearly starting a fight!"

"Um…" I decide to back down.

 _I guess I should let them get this out of their systems._

"Now, now Noire, you can't deny the fact that you were trying to seduce him. I saw you giving a seductive stare at him." Neptune points her finger at Noire.

"Can we just play the game…" Blanc says, but she was ignored.

"That's not true! Seduce him!? I wasn't trying to seduce him at all! I was just giving him my shopping list! That's all!" Noire blushes.

"Hmmm?" Neptune has a wide grin on her face. "Then tell me, why were you blushing when you gave 'Buddy' your shopping list? Also, you were quite close to him when you gave it."

 _Buddy? How dare you give my 'guard dog' a dog's name!_

"I-I was just making sure he doesn't screw up with our orders!" Noire crosses her arms.

"That's nice of you Noire!" Neptune smiles. "However!" She wags her finger side to side. "Why did you have to make your own list? Couldn't you tell him what you want? Unless…" She gives Noire a suggestive look.

"Unless?" I look at Neptune in confusion.

"That wasn't really your shopping list, but…" Neptune gives a dramatic pause.

…

…

…

"Your phone number…" Everyone's eyes except Neptune went wide. "That could also explain why you stopped Buddy from what he was about to say last chapter ago."

"My, my… Didn't know Noire was a bold one…" I say with a slight teasing tone.

"W-What!?" Noire stutters. "That's preposterous!"

"Then can you prove it?" Neptune teases. "What are you trying to hide?"

"I-I…" Noire stutters, trying to find the right words to say.

"CAN YOU TWO SHUT THE HELL UP!" Blanc explodes. We all look at her in terror.

"LET ME TELL YOU THAT THIS WHOLE FUCKING ARGUMENT REMINDS ME OF A SHITTY SCENE FROM A SHITTY BOOK!" Her eyes goes red.

"I CAME HERE TO PLAY A DAMN GAME! NOT TO HEAR SOME ROM-COM BULLSHIT THAT I HEARD A MILLION OF TIMES BEFORE!" She grabs a controller.

"NOW ARE WE GONNA PLAY THIS FUCKING GAME!? OR DO YOU WANT TAKE THIS OUTSIDE!?"

"Yes ma'am!" Neptune shouts and we all obediently grab our controllers.

…

…

…

"Good…" Blanc gives a slight smile.

* * *

 ** **Nirito's POV****

For some reason, a chill goes down my spine and I instinctively turn my head.

 _What the hell was that?_

I shake my head and turn back facing a large building. "This got to be the new mall." I check the map of Planeptune on my phone.

After confirming my location, I head straight inside. "Wow…" I look in awe at the variety of shops.

"Oh yeah." I take out the two shopping lists from my pocket. "Okay… I can get Vert's games and anime stuff there. Neptune's pudding in that sweets shop. Blanc's books at that bookstore. Finally, Noire's cos-"

 ***Thud***

"Huh?" I look down and see a little girl with short brown hair on the floor. "Are you okay!?" I quickly offer my hand to her.

She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. "R-Ram where are you?" The next thing I knew, she started bawling her eyes out. "Waaaahhhhh!"

"Uh…" I look around and see people staring.

"What the heck is that guy doing to that poor girl?" Guy A whispers to his friend.

"What an irresponsible parent." Woman C tells her husband.

"Is he a lolicon?" Otaku B stares daggers of jealousy at me.

"Hey, hey little one. Don't cry please." I quickly pat her on the head. "If you stop crying then…" I ponder for a bit. "I'll buy you ice cream."

 ***Sniffle* *Sniffle***

"I-Ice cream?" The little one said in a soft voice.

"Yes, any flavor you want. So stop crying please."

"A-Any flavor?" She wipes a tear from her eye.

"Of course." I look at my surroundings and see people are giving me a disgusted look. "No time to waste. Come on let's go." I quickly help her off the ground and bolted past the crowd, with the short brown haired girl in hand.

"M-Mister… Why are people looking at us and why is your hand sweating?" She asks with pure curiosity. The result was that people were glaring at me even harder.

"Honey call security!" Woman C yells to her husband.

"You bastard!" Otaku B grinds his teeth in jealousy.

 _Great… I look like a creep even more…_

"Oh don't worry about the sweat. It's just I'm kinda having a stressful moment right now." I up my walking speed until I can't hear the voices of the angry crowd.

* * *

"It's so good…" The short brown haired girl says as she finishes her ice cream.

"By the way why were you crying back there?" I ask her while finishing my lunch.

"C-Crying?" I can see tears are forming in her eyes once again. "I-I got separated from my sister…"

"Ram was it? What's your name little one?"

"Rom…" She wipes her eyes with her sleeve.

I give her a reassuring smile. "After I'm done eating, I'll help you find your sister."

"You will!?" Rom's eyes sparkle.

"Yeah. First tell me what she looks like."

"Um… She is my twin sister… The only difference is that she has longer hair…"

"Wait…" I blink a few times. "How about your parents? They're with her right?"

"We don't have parents…" She says nonchalantly.

My eyes went wide. "Guardian?"

She shakes her head side to side. "Our older sister and Mina takes care of us…"

I clench my fist. "Where are they right now? Is Ram with her?"

"No… Mina is at Lowee… My older sister is here at Planeptune, but she's with her friends…"

"I see…" I get up from my seat and throw away my plate. "Let's go! We got to hurry and find Ram!"

She nods and gets up from her seat. "Ok…"

 _When I find this 'older sister' of hers, I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind._

* * *

 ** **Nepgear's POV****

"Rom! Where are you!?" I shout in a clothing store, attracting people's attention.

 _No response…_

I meet up with Uni, who is with Ram at the moment. "Find her Nepgear?" She asks with a worried look on her face.

"No…" I bring my head down.

"Muuuuuu! You are useless you stupid head!" Ram shouts at me.

"Sorry Ram, but I will find her. No matter what." I respond with determination.

"Wait…" Uni looks off in the distance. "Is that Rom right there?" She points at the figure.

"It's Rom!" Ram starts running, but stops when she notices another figure with Rom. "Who is that creepy pervert!?"

I bring my head up and look at that figure. "Is that!?" I recognize who the figure is.

"Who is that creep?" Uni glares at the figure.

"Tch… That pervert messing with my sister's innocence. How dare he." Ram grits her teeth.

"Um… Ram this guy isn't what you think he is." I try to calm her down.

"Doesn't matter! He shall face the power of my RKO!" Ram starts charging towards the figure.

"Ram wait!" I try to stop her, but it was too late.

 _I'm sorry Mr. Nirito…_

* * *

 ** **A/N:**** **As always thank you for reading!**


	15. Getting Rammed

**Chapter 15:** Getting Rammed

 **Nirito's POV**

"Hm? Did you hear something Rom?" I look down at her.

 _I swear I just heard Nepgear just a moment ago. Could it just be my imagination?_

Rom nods her head side to side. "Didn't hear anything mister… Um…"

"It's Nirito. You can just call me Nirito." I smile at her.

"Nirito?" Her eyes went wide. "You're Mr. Nirito?" She says in a somewhat louder voice.

"Oh? You heard of me before?" I look at her curiously.

 _Am I that famous?_

"Y-Yeah I heard of you… Ms. Nep-" Before she could finish, she was interrupted.

"Stay away from my sister you creep!" A person who looks like Rom charges towards me.

* **DING***

"Gah!" The Rom look alike rams into my 'special' place, causing me to stumble back. Electricity runs through that area of my body and I wince in pain, fighting down an urge to throw up.

 _Send… help…_

"Owwie… That smarts." The Rom look alike rubs her head.

"Ram!?" Rom runs towards Ram.

"Rom are you ok!?" Ram looks at her with a worried look. "Did this creep do anything to you?"

"Creep?" Rom tilts her head sideways.

"Speaking of which…" Ram turns back to me. My face warped in pain and my stance in an awkward, standing crossed legged position. "How didn't you fall to my RKO!?"

"R… K…" Electricity shoots towards the lower part of my body. "Urgh! O?" I manage to finish my three letter question.

"That means Ram Knock Out! So how come you didn't get knocked out!?" She positions herself in a charging position. "Maybe another one would do the trick!"

 _Help… Please…_

"Ram no...!" Rom grabs Ram's arm. "Don't hurt him! He's the guy Ms. Nepgear was talking about!"

"That guy?" Ram tilts her head.

"Mr. Nirito are you okay!?" Nepgear runs past the two girls and up to me.

"N-Nepgear?"

"I'm sorry!" She bows her head low.

"Eh?" I try to regain my composure, but I still had to hunch. "What are you talking about? This isn't your fault."

 _Just hold out me… Only for a few lines… Hopefully…_

"If I stop Ram in time, th-"

"Woah, stop right there Nepgear." I put a hand on her shoulder.

"He's right, it's not your fault." A girl that looks like a mini version of Noire comes up to Nepgear's side. "I'm sorry about our friend's attitude towards you Mr. Nirito." She turns her head towards Ram. "Now apologize to Mr. Nirito for this inconvenience."

"Hmph!" Ram crosses her arms. "Its his fault for looking like a creepy pervert!"

 _Ouch…_

"Um… Don't worry girls, I didn't get hurt by that Ram Knock Out. So it's all cool."

Nepgear raises her head. "But it looks like you were in extreme pain a moment ago."

"Just only for a bit. I quickly brushed that off." I made a lie. The truth is that I'm in extreme pain at this moment.

"Cool!" Nepgear's eyes sparkle. "See everyone that little scratch wouldn't affect Mr. Nirito! Who epicly beated my sister in a match!"

 _Woah, woah! I think you are over exaggerating the details of that match!_

"Cool…" Rom and mini Noire chorus.

"Hahaha…" I look at Ram. "So we good?" I extend my hand out to her.

"Did you do anything lewd to her?" Ram glares at me.

"Lewd?" Rom innocently tilts her head.

"It's nothing Rom." Nepgear tells her.

"Rest assured, I didn't do anything wrong. I was helping her find you."

"Then we good." Ram shakes my hand.

"By the way Nepgear." I turn to her. "How do you know these three?"

"Eh!? You don't who Rom, Ram, and Uni is!?" All four of the girls looks at me quite shock.

"Um… Could they be CPU Candidates by any chance?"

Uni facepalms. "This is basic knowledge! How come you haven't heard about us!?"

I sigh and my face winces a bit. "Remember, I only know all of your girls' CPU forms, not human forms."

"Oh." All four chorus.

"So what are you doing here at Planeptune Mr. Nirito." Nepgear asks.

"Vert dragged me along to this CPU meeting. Right now I'm shopping for some things that the four CPUs want." I grab the two lists from my pocket. "Games and anime merch for Vert, pudding for Neptune, books for Blanc, and Noire's cos-"

 ***Rumble***

Something rumbles in my stomach and it wasn't the hungry kind of rumble.

 _I guess I'm at my limit._

"Urgh." My face winces. "Can someone tell me where the nearest restroom is?" I cross both of my arms around my stomach.

"Are you okay Mr. Nirito?" Rom looks at me with a worried look.

"I'm fine." I lie to her. "Just nature calling."

"The nearest restroom is around that corner." Ram points at the location.

"Thanks." With that, I start my awkward walk towards there.

 _Standby… Standby…_

* * *

"Aww… Much better…" I smile in bliss as I turn the corner.

"Gee, you took your time." Uni greets me. The other three candidates right behind her.

"Why were you girls waiting for me?"

"We all decided to help with your shopping." Nepgear beams a smile.

"What about your shopping?" I ask.

Uni shakes her head. "We were just looking around. Plus, we can't buy much with our small allowances."

"CPU Candidates has allowances!?" I'm quite surprise at this revelation.

"Yeah." Ram answers. "Mina gives us a small allowance of one million credits."

 _One million!?_

"..." I look at the girls with a blank stare.

"Are you okay Mr. Nirito…" Rom tugs my sleeve.

"I'm fine…" I start walking with my head down. "Let's get this shopping over with…"

 _One million…_

* * *

"We're back!" Ram kicks the door open.

"Hello…" Rom politely bows.

"Hahaha… We're back sis." Nepgear follows behind.

"Welcome back girls." Vert greets them. She and Noire are drinking tea since they were quickly eliminated from the game they were playing.

"Just die you bitch!" Blanc yells while mashing buttons on her controller.

"Nepu-pu! Your blade… It did not cut deep enough." Neptune taunts.

"Shut the hell up! Fight me like a true goddess!"

"Nepu-pu! Alright you asked for it!" Neptune starts mashing buttons on her controller.

"They're at it again." Noire sighs. "Welcome back Uni. How was your trip at the mall?" She takes a sip of her tea.

"It was nice. I guess…"

"By the way." Vert interrupts. "Did you girls run into my butler at mall?"

"It's bodyguard!" I slowly walk through the door with hundreds of bags. "Urgh… You really asked for too many things Vert…" I drop the bags on the floor. "Phew…"

"My, my… Why are there a few more bags than expected?" Vert points at the items that weren't on the shopping list.

"Hehehe…" Nepgear makes an awkward laugh. "Sorry! I kinda went overboard once I saw that technology shop! Sorry Mr. Nirito!"

"It's okay Nepgear." I try to calm her down. "Though I'm quite surprised you have that side to you."

"Nep Jr. loves technology so much, that I question her sanity." Neptune somehow appears magically right next to me. "One day she'll take over the world with giant robots."

"Scary…" I shake my head, getting that weird image out of my head. "Oh yeah what happen to your game?"

"Oh? I obliterated Blanc. I'm too MLG!" Neptune does a triumphant pose. "So where's my pudding Buddy?"

"Um… In one of those bags." I pick up a 'certain' bag. "So you four go look for your stuff in that pile." The next thing I know Neptune, Vert, and Blanc rushes towards the pile of bags.

"Move Thunder Tits! You're blocking my view!" Blanc tries to push Vert.

"Oh I didn't see you there. I thought you were a cutting board." Vert retaliates.

"You bitch… You trying to pick a fight?" Her eyes goes red.

"Oooooo! Is this a new game? I'm totally gonna play this!" Neptune grabs a bag that doesn't belong to her.

"Hey Neptune, that's mine!" Vert takes it back.

 _Savages…_

"Nepgear, you not gonna join the fray?" I ask her.

"Hahaha… I don't want to get caught up in that…" A bead of sweat drops from Nepgear's brow.

 _Smart girl…_

"How about you Noire? They're gonna find out your secret."

"Um…" She looks nervously at the pile. Probably searching for the item without getting caught up in that violence.

"Here." I hold the bag that I picked up in front of her.

"When did you grab that!?" Noire quickly takes the bag from me.

"Just a few lines ago."

"Hmph!" She turns her head away. "It's not like I'm thankful or anything!"

 _Sure, sure tsundere…_

"This probably will take a while…" Uni says while shielding Rom and Ram from the violence.

 _Indeed…_

* * *

I sigh. "You girls are savages…"

"You bastard! It would have been much easier if you'd separated our stuff!" Blanc looks at me with a pissed expression.

"I'm a bodyguard, not a bag organizer." I adjust my tie.

"Mr. Nirito…" Rom tugs my sleeve.

"Yes, Rom?" I look down at her.

"What does a bodyguard do?" All eyes turn to me.

"Hmm…" I ponder for a bit. "Well a bodyguards protects a person or multiple people. In my case, I protect Vert from bad guys." I look at Vert. "Though as her bodyguard, she lets me go on ridiculous errands. Like waking me up really early to buy her a game."

Vert giggles. "Don't worry I'm paying you overtime."

I sigh. "I'm running on fumes here…"

"You know…" Noire speaks up. "Isn't having a bodyguard quite redundant? Especially since humans are weaker than CPUs."

"What are you trying to say sis?" Uni asks.

"Like CPUs can protect themselves. Having a human bodyguard is kinda like having dead weight if you ask me." Noire crosses her arms.

 _Man that hurts…_

"Eh!? What are you blabbing about Noire!" Neptune yells in an angry tone. "Buddy here is strong! He defeated me in match!"

 _The way I won that match though…_

"Well it's because you're Neptune…" Blanc sips her tea. "The last time you fought, excluding Nirito, was probably three years ago…"

 _So she wasn't at full power!?_

"Ehehe…" Neptune scratches the back of her head. "Caught me…"

"Hmhmhm~" Vert laughs. "Why don't we have a little exhibition match? My bodyguard, Nirito, versus one CPU. Let's see if he can meet your expectations."

"Sounds like fun…" Blanc grins.

"Hmm… Interesting…" Noire grins as well.

"Sorry Buddy…" Neptune pats me on the back. "I'll bring flowers to your grave."

"Then it's settled!" Vert claps her hands.

"Hey! I didn't agree to this!" I turn around where the door is located.

"Sorry Mr. Nirito." Nepgear and the other candidates blocks off my escape route. "We kinda want to fight you as well. Sorry!" Nepgear bows her head.

"No running now…" Rom slightly smiles.

 _Rom not you too…_

"Now then Nirito. Who do you want to fight?" Vert asks.

"Um… What floor is this again?" I look towards the windows.

"This is top floor. Which is one hundred." Neptune answers.

"Tch…" I turn my head in every direction, looking for a way out.

"No escaping Nirito-kun~" Vert walks up to me and puts a hand under my chin. "Who do you want to fight?"

 _This woman…_

"Um…"

"Wait!" Neptune interrupts. "Pick wisely Buddy! This choice will affect the route you will go down!"

"This is not a dating sim Neptune!" Noire scolds. "Hurry up Nirito and pick one of us!"

…

…

…

"Tch…" I take a deep breath. "Then… I will choose…"

* * *

 **A/N: As always thank you for reading!**


	16. You Are the Chosen One

**Chapter 16:** You Are the Chosen One

"No escaping Nirito-kun~" Vert walks up to me and puts a hand under my chin. "Who do you want to fight?"

 _This woman…_

"Um…"

"Wait!" Neptune interrupts. "Pick wisely Buddy! This choice will affect the route you will go down!"

"This is not a dating sim Neptune!" Noire scolds. "Hurry up Nirito and pick one of us!"

…

…

…

"Tch…" I take a deep breath. "Then… I will choose…"

* * *

 _Wait…_

 _If I'm going to fight another CPU, then I need to choose wisely on this._

 _I want to have a fight where I have a high percent chance of not dying._

 _A coward's way of thinking, but a wise way of thinking as well._

 _Seriously, I'm no baldy who can one punch almost everything…_

 _Heck… I barely survived that Neptune onslaught… And Blanc said her last fight was three years ago._

"Hey Buddy just so you know…" As on cue, Neptune speaks up. "That after my lost, I've been through some intensive grinding lately! So I won't be beat this time!"

 _Well since I got all those wounds from a level one Neptune last time… Yep… Not even an option._

 _Wait… Did she say that unpurpose?_

I look at Neptune with a suspicious glance. In return, she gives me a bright smile. I sigh.

 _Of course… She is just looking for a way out of this fight. How lazy of her…_

 _Hmm… I should exclude Rom and Ram as options. Since… Well… Fighting against one of them will damage my pride in a way._

 _Plus, they got some long range magic on their side._

 _Speaking of long range, then Uni is not an option as well._

 _I guess Noire and Blanc are not options as well since those two have the highest shares right now. That means that they have an extra boost in strength._

 _Also, fighting Blanc is not good, especially when she is enraged._

 _So that leaves Vert and Nepgear…_

 _The reason why Nepgear is still a viable option is because I can probably ask her to take it easy on me. She seems to be the most understanding of the CPUs._

 _If I tell her about my lack of sleep, then maybe we can make some truce in which neither of us would end up getting hurt. Me more so than her…_

 _Vert on the other hand will most likely take it easy since I'm her bodyguard and she's suppose to make me look good._

 _Hopefully…_

I take a look at Vert, who has an evil smirk on her face. She quietly, almost in a whisper, mouths off two words which is…

" _Butler outfit…"_

"Tch…" I click my tongue. "Of course this is gonna happen…" I mumble.

"What's wrong Mr. Nirito?" Uni looks at me curiously.

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud for a moment."

"Is making a choice that hard?" Blanc blankly says.

"Well there's no save option." I sigh and go back into thinking mode.

 _If I were to formulate Vert's proposal into a sentence then it would be…_

" _If you want me to go easy… Then you know what you have to do for me. Hmhmhm~"_

 _So with this new piece of info, that leaves only one option…_

"I choose Nepgear." I say without any hesitation.

"M-Me!?" Nepgear eyes widen in shock. The other CPUs just lets out a sigh. While Vert is trying to conceal a giggle.

"Nepu!? You're going the imouto route!? My imouto at that!" Neptune gives me an angry look. "Sorry Buddy! Even though I accepted you as the main character, I can't accept you as my Nep Jr.'s boyfriend!"

 _And just like that… She turned hostile to me again…_

 _I swear… Neptune has some dramatic mood swings._

"Um… Neptune this isn't a dating sim…" I facepalm. "Plus, I was choosing an opponent, not a girlfriend…"

"I-I was chosen…" Nepgear blushes an interesting shade of red. She puts both hands to her cheek. "Goodness…"

 _Um… Excuse me Nepgear, I'm pretty sure being pick is a bad thing. Especially with this scenario._

Neptune ignores me while she rambles on. "T-Then one night, in a love hotel, when the mood is just right and lovey dovey bar is filled… T-They will! They will!"

 ***CHOP***

Noire chops Neptune on the head. "Kids are here." She whispers in her ear.

"Oops sorry." Neptune knuckles her head.

"What's a love hotel?" Rom asks.

"Is there a difference between a regular hotel and a love hotel?" Ram looks at Neptune curiously.

"Um… Ask Blanc! She knows all about it!" Neptune tosses her problem onto Blanc.

"Hey! Damn it Neptune!" Blanc clenches her fist. "Um… Ask Mina about it later…"

"Boo…" The little twins chorus.

 ***Sniff* *Sniff***

"Of course Nirito would choose my little sister over me…" Vert starts fake crying. "Is it because she's prettier than me!?" She covers her face with both hands. "Traitor!"

 _This woman…_

Everyone gives her a blank stare. "Let's leave her…" I say and everyone nods.

"Muuu… You're no fun sometimes Nirito." Vert pouts.

I ignore her. "Let's go Nepgear."

"Huh?" Nepgear awakens from her trance. "Okay…" She nods.

"Are you feeling okay Nepgear?" Uni looks at her worriedly.

"Don't worry Uni. I'm okay." She looks at me. "So where are we going Mr. Nirito?"

"The Basilicom sparring room right?"

"No, no, no!" Neptune intervenes. "Histy will be really mad at us if we mess up the place!"

"I see…" I nod. "What do you suggest Nepgear?"

"Um… There is a nice safe zone in Virtua Forest. We could fight there."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Neptune complains.

"We just got out of the Basilicom…" I sigh.

"But I don't want to walk anymore!" Ram complains.

I facepalm. "You know… You girls can just fly there."

"Ah." The girls hit a moment of realization.

"Don't tell me you forgot…"

"I can't believe I, out of all people, forgot!" Noire covers her eyes with her hand.

"You're a genius Buddy!" Neptune gives me a thumbs up.

"Well this is embarrassing…" Blanc sighs.

"My, my… I guess everyone is acting like an airhead today." Vert giggles.

"Ram what is a airhead?" Rom asks.

"Um… I don't know… Uni?" Ram looks at her.

"A foolish person is the definition." Uni crosses her arms.

"I see… I see… Wait… Did she call us dumb!? Meanie!" Ram glares at Vert.

"I'm just stating a fact. Anyway, why don't we transform and fly there?"

Suddenly, multiple pillar of lights appear, blocking my vision. I quickly turn my head and close my eyes. After a few seconds, I reopen them to see everyone except Nepgear in their CPU forms.

"Oh Nepgear? Why haven't you transformed?" I look at her. She looks like she is deep in thought.

"Come on Nepgear. We are going to leave you." Neptune warns her.

"It's okay. You can go without me. I got something to do real quick." Nepgear waves her hand.

"I see…" Her older sister frowns. "Then don't be late." Neptune and the other CPUs look at her with a worried look.

I sigh. "I'll stay with her. You girls go ahead and make sure that safe zone in Virtua Forest is actually safe."

"E-Eh!? It's okay Mr. Nirito! You don't need to do that!" She stutters.

"It's fine." I pat her on the shoulder. "Right Vert?" I wink, hoping that she would get the signal.

She giggles. "For temporarily, Nirito you are to be my little sister's bodyguard until you reach the safe zone in Virtua Forest. During that time, you are to protect her at all costs. That is an order."

"Got it." I smirk. "Sorry Nepgear an order is an order."

Neptune smiles. "Well then, let's go. Take care of her Buddy." The others nods silently and takes to the skies.

* * *

"And… They're gone…" I look at Nepgear. "So… What's truly wrong Nepgear?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"Everyone could see it. You made it pretty noticeable that something is bothering you."

She looks down. "It's about our fight."

"Nervous?"

"Yeah… I have butterflies in my stomach."

I begin to laugh. "You know I'm the one who should be more nervous."

"Why Mr. Nirito? You're really strong. You beat my sister in the fight."

"Let me get this straight. One, your sister hasn't fought for three years. So she wasn't in full strength at the time. Two, I won by pure luck. It was her fault for trying to execute an EXE when the rules clearly stated that EXEs are banned."

"Huh? I thought you weakened my sister enough to force her into using the EXE."

"Were you watching the fight Nepgear?"

She makes an awkward laugh. "Kinda… Most of the time, I was being suffocated by Vert's b-b-breasts. I guess my vision was affected by the lack of air. So what happened? If you didn't corner her into using it, then what happened?"

"She was trying to show off I guess." I sigh. "To be honest, I would've lost that fight. No, I would've been wrecked."

She brings her head up. "Really?"

"Yes, really. So don't be nervous." I pat her on the head. "You are most guarantee to win this fight."

"Then why did you pick me, knowing that you will surely lose?"

"Well…" I scratch the back of my head. "You seem the most understanding of the CPUs. That's why."

"Huh?" Nepgear tilts her head.

"If I tell you some excuse, I was hoping you would take it easy on me." I clench my fist. "I know, it's a cowardly tactic."

"So you can win easily?" She looks at me curiously.

"No, so I can take minimal damage as possible. I don't really care about winning."

"Then it's not a cowardly tactic." She smiles. "No one likes getting hurt."

I laugh. "You're really a nice girl Nepgear."

Nepgear blushes at my statement. "I-I didn't say anything special."

"So is your nervousness gone?" I change the subject.

"Yes." She nods. "I think I can fight now."

"Good. Then shall we head to Virtua Forest now?"

"Yep!" She puts both hands behind her back. "Hey, you're my bodyguard right?" She blushes slightly.

"Well only temporary."

"Then, can we walk to Virtua Forest together? I've never had a bodyguard before. So I kinda want to make this last a bit longer…"

I smile. "Sure." We both start walking.

"Hey is it alright if I ask you something?" Nepgear tugs my sleeve.

"Go ahead."

"A-Are you nervous Mr. Nirito?"

…

…

…

* * *

 ** **A/N: Happy Belated New Year everyone! Hoped you all enjoyed your holidays! As always thank you for reading!****


	17. Magical Artifact

**Chapter 17:** Magical Artifact

We finally arrive at the designated location in Virtua Forest. From the looks of it, the area is already cleared of monsters. The only living thing here, from what I can sense, is Nepgear, I, and the other goddesses. The goddesses are sitting underneath a tree, having a nice picnic lunch.

 _Where did that picnic basket come from?_

"You two took your time." Vert, with her eyes closed, takes a sip of her tea.

"Sorry everyone!" Nepgear bows her head.

"It's fine Nep Jr.!" Neptune puts a spoonful of pudding into her mouth. "Most importantly… Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes! Thanks to Mr. Nirito!" She smiles brightly.

"I didn't really do anything." I act bashfully.

"No, your words were very impactful…" She slightly blushes.

"Oh? When did you two get so close?" Vert looks at both of us with a teasing grin.

Nepgear's blush grows darker red. "It's not like that! We are just good friends now!"

 _Ouch… Friend zoned…_

"Hmhmhm~ You're so cute Nepgear that I just want to hug you~" Vert sighs. "But… I'll have to hold off on that sadly… I can't let your HP go down before the duel."

"Hahaha…" Nepgear slowly backs up.

 ***Thud***

Nepgear accidently bumps into me, causing her to lose her balance. I put my hands on her shoulder to stop her from stumbling. "Woah Nepgear, watch who you're backing up into."

"Aw, sorry Mr. Nirito…" She quickly moves away from me.

"Sis…" Rom tugs her sister's arm. "Why is Ms. Nepgear acting more weird than usual today?"

"It's a complex emotion Rom…" Blanc quietly munches on her Blanc Manju. "I'll tell you about it when you grow up…"

 ***Grumble***

"Um… Was that you Nepgear?" I look at her.

"I guess I'm a bit hungry from all that walking." She awkwardly laughs.

"Nepgear!" Uni grabs something from the picnic basket. "There's some cookies if you want some."

Nepgear looks at me as looking for permission. I smile. "We can have a little snack break before we fight it out."

 _Plus, I'm a little parched from that walk as well._

* * *

After having our little snack break, we got onto an open field area. The other CPUs kept a certain distance so they wouldn't intrude on our fight and so they could see as well.

"Oh yeah Nepgear before we start this, I want to tell you something."

"What is it Mr. Nirito?"

"Since this is a fight to prove my worth, I want you to go all out. Don't hold back is what I'm trying to say."

Her eyes widen. "I don't want to hurt you though! Plus, didn't you say you don't want to get hurt!?"

"I don't like pain of course, but I feel holding back in the fight is not right. I want us to fight with all of our full strength. Otherwise this battle will just be dissatisfying… To you and the readers…"

"I see Mr. Nirito… Then don't hold back against me as well." Nepgear looks at me with determination.

"Sure… Let's both have a fun fight Nepgear!" I give her a thumbs up.

* * *

Nepgear and I walk a good distance away from each other. I held out my hand and my mouth moves to say two certain words. A blue aura forms around my hand and it starts forming into the shape of a sword. The aura disappears and appears is the same 'Master Sword' I used against the Fenrir.

"Is that the Master Sword!?" Neptune yells from a distance.

"No Neptune!" Noire chops her on the head. "Can you see it's different from the Master Sword?"

Blanc stares blankly at the sword. "It's a magical artifact…"

"Aren't those really rare!?" Ram's eyes widen. "How could you tell that it's a magical artifact in the first place?"

"It's really obvious to tell that it's one Ram…" Blanc sighs. "Unlike our weapons, where we can summon them from thin air… Human weapons, in order to carry them, you need either a sheath or holster… Magical artifacts however, works on a summoning system like our weapons…"

Noire crosses her arms. "Our research on magical artifacts is really insufficient however, so we don't know how powerful one is. All we have is info on how we can tell what a magical artifact is and that magical artifacts are extremely hard to find."

Uni ponders a bit. "Didn't The Quartet used magical artifacts right? Quartet Arms they are called?"

Noire nods. "Yes, they were used against the fallen goddess. Also, the Quartet Arms were the last time magical artifacts were seen in Gamindustri… Until today…"

"How did Mr. Nirito get one?" Rom asks.

"Why don't you ask Thunder Tits?" Blanc points at Vert. "He's your bodyguard, so you got to have some info on this matter."

Vert looks down. "Sorry everyone, to be honest, I didn't know he had a magical artifact until today. This is my second time seeing this weapon. The first time, I couldn't tell since it was already summoned."

"So… Is everyone saying that Buddy is special?" Neptune looks ignorantly. "I didn't really pay attention to what you girls said since that practically was information dump. No one really reads that stuff."

…

…

…

Nepgear looks at me with a surprised look. "Where did you get that sword?"

"From a friend." I reply casually. "She gave it to me as a present."

"You really are interesting as Vert says Mr. Nirito." She summons her beam sword. "But I will still fight you with all I got!"

"Bring it!" I initiate the fight by dashing towards Nepgear.

"I'll stop you! Slash Wave!" Nepgear slices her sword on the ground, creating a shockwave-like attack.

Before it hits me, I quickly dodge to the side and continue my dash. I got up into striking distance, and I swing my sword with all my strength.

 ***Cling***

As expected, she blocks my attack. "Nice reaction time Nepgear." I compliment her.

"Thank you Mr. Nirito." She puts her other hand on the hilt of her sword and tries to push back. "I'm not giving up that easily! Offensive Cheer!" She then starts pushing me back.

Knowing that this blade/beam lock is a losing battle, I quickly jump back, catching Nepgear off guard. The result was her body starts stumbling around. "This my chance! Assault Strike!" I lunge forward, aiming at her shoulder.

She almost dodge the attack completely, leaving only a small cut on her shoulder. "You got me Mr. Nirito." She looks at the cut on her shoulder. "Heal!" The small cut on her arm heals until it's completely gone, only leaving the rip on her outfit.

 _Isn't that cheating!?_

Nepgear jumps back a distance. "Now I'm gonna get serious!" She yells.

 _Here it is. She is going to transform into her CPU form._

I get into a stance. "Bring it Nepgear!" I tighten my grip on my sword, focusing my strength for one strike.

"Here goes Mr. Nirito! I'll show you the power of my CPU form!" A bright pillar of light appears. This time though, instead of covering my eyes, I quickly jump into action. I activate a SP skill that I've been working on since that fight with Neptune.

 _Though the question is… Will it work?_

I shake my doubts away and lunge toward the pillar of light. As I got close, I mutter the words…

…

…

…

"Bane of the Goddess…"

* * *

 ** **A/N: As always thank you for reading!****


	18. Pseudo Virus

**Chapter 18:** Pseudo Virus

"Bane of the Goddess…"

A blue aura explodes around the edges of my blade, causing ripples in the air around it. I charge at full speed, towards the blinding light. Upon getting close, I swing my sword with all the strength I can muster at the pillar of light.

 ***CRACK***

Upon contact, the pillar of light shatters like a broken glass mirror.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Nepgear, in her human form, lets out a yell as she falls flat on the ground. From the looks of it, she seems to fallen unconscious.

"Are you okay Nepgear!?" I unsummon my sword and run up to Nepgear's side.

"Mmmmhhhh…" Nepgear slowly opens her eyes. She sits up and takes a look at her weapon, which was lodged into the ground. "Mr. Nirito? How long have I've been out?"

"Just for a few lines." I let out a sigh of relief. "Are you okay Nepgear? Are you hurting anywhere?"

She smiles. "I think I'm fine. I don't feel any pain."

"I see… That's good…" I offer her a hand.

 _Seems like that test was a success._

"Thank you." She takes my hand and I help her onto her feet. She looks down at the ground with an embarrassed look on her face. "So I guess I lost huh…"

"We could continue if you want."

She shakes her head. "No, I lost fair and square." She smiles. "I wasn't really in the mood to fight you at the beginning anyways."

"Same." I smile back.

"Yo Buddy!" Neptune jumps on my back.

"Woah!" I stumble a bit. "What are you doing Neptune!?"

"Hey what move was that you did on Nep Jr.? Where did you get that sword? Is that a magical artifact? Do you have any other skills than Cross Slash and Assault Strike? Can you buy me more pudding?" Neptune bombards me with questions.

"Uhhh…" Neptune's words causes pain to start swelling in my head

"Too many questions Neptune…" Blanc answers.

"Thanks Blanc." I give her a small bow.

"You're still gonna have to answer some questions though." Noire appears with Uni, Rom, and Ram behind her.

"Figures…" I sigh.

"My poor Nepgear, are you alright?" Vert somehow appears right next to Nepgear's side. She then gives Nepgear a hug, her breasts muffling her sounds.

"Mmmmmphhh!" Nepgear struggles from Vert's grasp.

I laugh awkwardly a bit. "Should we head back to Planeptune so I can explain there? I don't want to hang in this place when night comes."

"Sounds good." Vert releases Nepgear and she takes deep breaths. "But first…" Vert looks at Noire. "So did he meet your expectations?"

"Well I guess he's strong. His form was not bad. His techniques look… Bah!" Noire shakes her head. "What are you trying to make me say!?"

"I don't know." Vert smirks. "What are you trying to say?"

Noire transforms. "Hmph! Nevermind about what I'm trying to say! Let's go back already! Histoire is probably wondering where we have gone!"

Neptune transforms. "Oh yeah… I forgot to tell her where we were going." Everyone else follows suit and transforms except Nepgear, who seems to be struggling.

"What's wrong Nep Jr.?" Neptune asks her struggling sister.

"I can't go HDD for some reason."

"Huh? How come?" Neptune looks at me. "What did you do to her?"

I scratch the back of my head. "I'll explain back at Planeptune. Just give her a lift for now."

"Fine." She nods her head. "Come Nep Jr." She extends her hand out to her.

"Shall we go Nirito?" Vert taps on my shoulder.

"Walking is not an option I guess…" I sigh.

"Are you saying my 'services' are inadequate?" Vert pouts. "You hurt me Nirito…"

"Well your 'service' last time almost gave me a heart attack."

"Well at least you get a good 'frontal' and 'rear' view." She smirks. "Better than any window seat."

I smirk too. "Can't argue with that." I reluctantly took her hand.

"Hmhmhm~ Pervert~" With that, she starts lifting me off the ground.

* * *

"Where have you girls been!?" When we came back to the Basilicom, a small, angry fairy was the first thing that greeted us.

"Pisty is going at us again…" Neptune sighs as she listens to the fairy's lecture.

…

…

…

"On that note, who's this gentleman right there?" The fairy looks at me with an observing look.

 _What's this? Why do I have the feeling that I've seen her before?_

"Hey Nirito." Vert nudges my arm. "Introduce yourself. It's proper manners."

"Oh sorry." I clear my throat. "I'm Nirito Haan. Nice to meet you… Histoire, I presume?" I extend a hand out.

"So you're the guy the Chika was talking about." She shakes my hand, or my finger is what I should say. "I'm Histoire, the Oracle of Planeptune. Nice to meet you too."

"By the way, have we met before?" I ask.

Histoire blinks a few times before shaking her head. "No, I believe this is our first encounter."

"I see…"

 _Huh… I swear we did meet before, but where?_

"Hey Histy! Guess what?" Neptune pokes the fairy on her small shoulder.

"What is it Neptune?" Histoire's eye twitches in annoyance.

"Buddy here has like an overpowered power that neutralizes our transformations!"

"I'm not sure if it's a guarantee neutralize. That could have been just luck." I inform her.

"You mean a skill that causes the Virus effect?" Histoire asks curiously. "I'm sorry Neptune, it's impossible for a human to use a SP skill that causes a Virus status effect."

"No, no, no! Like he has a super duper rare magical artifact, so it might be possible!"

"A magical artifact…" Histoire puts a hand to her chin. Then she looks at me. "Would you like to explain what happened over a cup of tea?"

"Sounds good." I nod.

* * *

 ** ***Sip*****

I take one last sip of my tea before putting the cup on the table. "And… That's the story." I told her about what happened during the fight and after.

"I see…" Histoire looks at Nepgear. "Hey Nepgear can you transform?"

"Um let's see…" Nepgear focuses really hard, but to no avail. "Urgh… Why can't I go HDD?"

"As I figured…" Histoire looks to be deep in thought.

"Hey Histy, don't leave us in the dark! Tell us what's wrong with Nep Jr.!" Neptune yells.

"I think it's better to ask the root of the problem…" Blanc points at me.

All eyes turn to me. I pick up my cup and pour more tea in it. "What Nepgear is experiencing right now is not a Virus per se. It's more like a Pseudo Virus caused by the Bane of the Goddess skill."

"A Pseudo Virus?" Uni tilts her head. "If it's a Virus, then would a Tuffmil do the trick?"

"As I said, it's not a Virus. The difference between a Virus and my Pseudo Virus is in the aura."

"Aura? What do you mean?" Uni asks.

"Hmm… How can I explain this…" I ponder a bit. "When a monster inflicts you with the Virus status effect, an aura is injected temporarily, negating a CPU's HDD form. A Tuffmil like Uni said, will get rid of it instantly. It will negate the aura effect that a Virus puts on you."

"However, with your Pseudo Virus, it does the same effect, but the aura is different." Histoire finishes my explanation. "A Tuffmil is designed to get rid of that type of aura, not a Pseudo Virus aura. Is that right?" She asks.

"Correct." I give her a thumbs up.

"So…" Nepgear blushes. "Mr. Nirito's aura is inside me right now?"

 _Oh no…_

"Yep." Histoire nods.

"Hey Nepgear…" Vert asks with her hair covering her eyes and with a creepy smile. "How does it feel?"

"Um…" Nepgear puts a hand on her stomach. "It feels pretty warm around here. It also has this fluidity feeling for some reason."

"..." A drop of sweat drops from my forehead.

 _It was at this moment I knew, I fucked up…_

"Hey Buddy…" Neptune with a smile, tugs my sleeve. "Would you follow me to this dark, scary room? I need to have a 'private chat' with you."

"Um…" I stand up from my chair. "I think Vert and I should go home now. It's getting pretty late. Right Vert?"

"Hmhmhm~ Hey would you mind if I join your 'private chat' Neptune?" Vert asks with a smile.

"I would usually say no because Nep Jr. is not your little sister, but I'll allow it just this once."

Vert walks up close to me. "Shall we?" She grabs my arm and Neptune grabs the other arm and they pull me into the dark, scary room. "Nirito…" Vert whispers into my ear. "You're gonna have a bad time."

"Wait! Listen to me!" I start to panic.

 ***BAM***

* * *

 ** **Nepgear's POV****

The door shuts, the only sound that could be heard from the other side are the screams of Mr. Nirito and lots of incoherent yelling.

 _Did I say something weird?_

"What did Mr. Nirito do?" Rom asks.

"You will learn when you grow up…" Blanc answers.

"You always say that!" Ram complains.

"Hey Nepgear, why did you say that?" Uni lightly elbows me.

"What do you mean?" I tilt my head.

"Don't tell me…" Uni narrows her eyes.

"Huh?" A question pops above my forehead.

"Nevermind." She facepalms for some reason.

Noire sighs. "Neptune likes to overreact all the time. I'm surprised Vert joined in."

Histoire floats right beside Noire. "Well you know her and Nepgear's 'special' relationship."

"True." Noire takes a sip of her tea.

"Will Mr. Nirito be alright?" I ask the two.

"Probably not." Noire answers. "The question you should be asking is, are you gonna be alright?"

Histoire smiles. "Don't worry Noire. I can sense that the Pseudo Virus is already wearing off. It will most likely be gone by the end of the day."

"That's good." I smile.

 ***Click***

The door opens and my big sis came out. Vert is following suit, dragging Mr. Nirito who seems to be unconscious.

"Is Mr. Nirito okay?" I ask, a bit worried.

"Don't worry." Vert answers with a satisfied smile on her face. "He had an early day today. I guess all the tiredness just caught up. I guess we're leaving early today, sorry." She bows.

"Don't worry about it!" My sis brightly smiles. "We had a lot of fun today with your bodyguard!"

"Hmhmhm~ Indeed~" Vert transforms and flies out through our balcony.

 _Aw… I didn't get to say bye to Mr. Nirito…_

* * *

 ** **Nirito's POV****

"Mmmmhhh…" I slowly open my eyes. I feel a slight breeze brush up against my face.

"Oh? Good morning sleepyhead, or should I say good night?" Vert, in her CPU form, looks at me with a smile on her face.

I look down and see that there is ocean below me. The sun started going down, leaving a nice view of a sunset. "I didn't expect you to team up with Neptune back there." I sigh.

"Well you did something unforgivable to my little sister. So you can't blame me for being angry."

"Hey, hey… You know I wouldn't do anything illicit to her. I just put a Pseudo Virus on her, that's all."

Vert looks off to the side. "I know, but…"

"Don't tell me you got jealous?" I tease her.

"You're a terrible person 'Mr. Nirito.'" She smirks. "But that's what I like about you."

"You're a terrible person as well Vert and that's what I like about you too."

"..." I can see a faint blush on her face. "Hey Nirito, remember that reward I kinda promised you in chapter eleven?"

"Yeah, but I technically didn't stay awake the whole day."

"Don't worry… I can make an exception to that."

"Heh…" I smirk. "So what's the reward?"

"Secret~" She giggles. "Also, remember that favor in chapter twelve you owe me?"

"Yes, I do." I sigh. "Remember I said nothing too extreme."

"Hmhmhm~" She giggles again. "I was thinking that I should just cash in all those two promises tonight if you don't mind."

"I don't mind, but what are you planning?" I look at her skeptically.

"Oh you'll see… However, what I can tell you is that it will be a nice 'treat' for the readers."

* * *

 ** **A/N: As always thank you for reading!****


	19. An Eventful Night

**Chapter 19:** An Eventful Night

"Man, that was a long flight." I stretch my back, hearing my bones crack into place.

Vert transforms back into her human form. "Shhh… Chika is most likely sleeping by now." She puts a finger up to her mouth.

"Well who's fault was it for taking such a slow pace?" I look at a clock. "It's already midnight."

"Goddesses can get tired too, Nirito." Vert pouts. "Today was really tiring…"

"Weren't you just sitting around all day? I'm the one who went through a lot of tiring activities."

She smiles. "You did a good job today."

A thought occurs in my mind. "By the way, what about your shopping bags?"

"Don't worry, Nepgear said she would mail it to Leanbox." She looks off to the side. "I could've carried it all, but I got my hands full with another baggage."

"You hurt me Vert…"

"Well now we're here, it's time for the best part." She puts on a mischievous smirk.

"Do you have to give me the reward tonight?"

"Of course! In fact, tonight would actually be the best time to do this. The employees are gone…" She walks up closer to me. "Chika is sleeping…" She puts a hand on my chest.

"Don't tell me that my reward…" Before I could finish my sentence, Vert silences me with her finger.

"Why don't you wait in your room, big boy~" She seductively whispers into my ear.

"..." I obediently nod and started walking to my room.

* * *

Right now I'm sitting on my bed, with my mind thinking of the current event that's happening.

 _Could this be another tease? I can't tell… Her acting was really convincing this time._

 _It's only been a week I've worked as her bodyguard… I made sure I didn't trigger any romance flags during that time._

 _Heck, I've triggered more flags with Nepgear today._

"Tch…" I click my tongue. "What kind of route is this woman taking?"

 _If this is going the route I think it's going, then…_

…

…

…

As I keep on thinking about this situation, one name keeps popping in the back of my head. A name that a part of me wants to forget. A name that I know, deep down, I don't want to forget. A name the could be once called my first love…

"Aya…" I mutter to myself. "That's right… My promise to her…"

" _No matter what Aya, I will always be with you! Even if the whole world turns against you, I'll stay by your side!" I say with a determined look on my face. "This is my oath to you…"_

" _Nirito-kun…" Aya looks at me, tears in her eyes. "Thank you…"_

"Gah!" I grab my pillow and start hitting my head with it. "What the hell is with that cheesy line Nirito!? Die!" I keep hitting my head in embarrassment.

 _I even said some sappy lines to Nepgear as well!_

"Gah!" I start hitting my head against the wall. "Die, die, die! Person that I was, die!"

 ***Bang* *Bang* *Bang***

Soon after, I stop and hang my head down. "I really hate dramatic scenes… I always come up with cliched shit…" I sigh and lay down.

I put an arm over my eyes and smirk. "I'm sorry Vert…"

 _I should really move on…_

…

…

…

* * *

 ** ***Knock* *Knock*****

"Nirito, it's me Vert." She calls out behind the door.

"Come in…" I say in a tired tone.

Vert opens the door and closes it. "Are you okay Nirito? I heard some banging a while ago."

"Don't worry…" My arm is still covering my eyes. "I accidently dropped some stuff…" I lie to her.

I hear her walk closer and closer to me. Until the sounds of her steps couldn't be heard. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?" She asks politely.

"Go ahead." As I said that, she sits next to me on my bed.

"I like your room Nirito." She speaks up. "Though it could use BL posters. I got some in storage if you want."

"Please no…" I remove my arm and sit up. I slowly turn my head to look at Vert. The view I see, left me speechless before her.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay? Your face is red." Vert asks in a worried tone.

 _This woman…_

What she is wearing is a black nightgown, which looks to be quite a small size for her. Her curves looks more emphasized and the chest area is putting pressure on the nightgown. Like it could tear at any moment.

"You're doing this on purpose…" I rub my eye. Also, trying to keep my calm.

"I don't know what you're talking about Nirito." She smirks.

"I'm calling it a night…"

Vert giggles. "Don't sleep on me yet. The fun is about to start."

"Seriously?" I sigh.

"You're hurting my feelings." Vert pouts.

"Um… I appreciate the offer, but I…" Once again, she silences me with her finger.

"You know…" Vert looks into my eyes. "We've never had many heart to heart moments."

"So, what are you proposing?"

She blushes heavily. "I want to know you better…" She gets on all fours and moves closer to me. "My reward to you…" She moves up close that our faces are two inches apart.

…

…

…

"Is my first time…"

* * *

"Haa… Haa… Haa…" I started breathing heavily as my stamina starts depleting. "Vert… You are pretty good at this…"

"Mmmmmmnn~ No! Not there Nirito!" Vert bites down on her lip. "You are surprisingly good at this too~"

"Well this isn't my first time…" Sweat pours down my head. "Are you having fun?"

"Yeah… Haa… Haa…" She starts breathing heavily now. "At first it was rough, but… Aaahhhhh~" Vert pouts. "Muuuuuu~ You did that on purpose… You are hitting my vulnerable spots."

I smirk. "Of course the first few minutes were rough. There was that 'obstacle' in the way." Suddenly, Vert's grip tightens. "Urgh… If that's how you're gonna play…" I put on my serious face. "Then it's time to be serious." As I said that, I thrust forward with more vigor than before.

"Aaaaahhh~ Aaaaaaaaah~ Aaaaaaahhhhh~ Haaa… Haaa…"

"Haaaa… Haaa…" I grit my teeth. "Vert… It's getting harder to move around… You're trapping me…"

 _I think it's about time…_

She smiles at me. "I know you've been holding back… Do it…"

"Vert…" I smile back at her. "Then take all of it!" As I said that, I make one final thrust at her.

"Yaaaaaaahhhh!"

…

…

…

"Finish Her!" The announcer's voice can be heard from the television speaker.

"I won!" I hit pause on the controller and turn to Vert. "Good game Vert!"

"Unbelievable…" Vert drops her controller. "I lost…"

"Don't look too down." I pat her on the head. "You did pretty good for someone who got to overcome that 'obstacle,' aka being rusty."

"Well… That was a pretty intense match. We both kinda got winded from all that." She seems to calm down.

"Heh…" I smirk. "You almost trapped me with that combo earlier. I couldn't really move around during that point." I praise her.

"Hmhmhm… Thanks for the praise." She smiles. "Good game to you as well Nirito."

"By the way. What do you mean it's your first time?" I ask.

"It's my first time in a guy's room." She answers.

"I see…" A thought pops in my mind. "Oh yeah…" I remove my hand from her head and unpause the game. "Let's see…" I hit a couple of buttons on the controller. It triggers an animation and my character cuts Vert's character into pieces with his sword.

"Fatality!" The announcer's voice rings through the television speakers.

"…" Vert pouts and starts hitting me on the chest. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Hahaha! I couldn't resist."

She turns her head away. "I'm going to bed." With a huff, she puts her head down on my pillow and brings the blanket over her.

"Wait a minute… What do you think you are doing?" I shut off the console and put the controllers away.

"Going to bed of course." Her back is facing towards me. "I don't do this a lot, but today was really tiring. A goddess needs her sleep once in awhile."

"Then go to your room." I say coldly.

"Hmph… Baka…"

 _Did she really just called me a baka just now?_

I sigh. "You know, this could cause a huge scandal if this gets out." I think for a bit. "Breaking news! Bodyguard sleeps with goddess of Leanbox!"

She turns her body around to face me. "Your naming could use more work…"

"I suck at naming. You've heard what I named my skills. Heck, the author can take over an hour thinking of a name for chapter titles. Though in the end, it will be something pretty mediocre."

"Hmhmhm~" Vert giggles. "Don't worry. I don't mind…" She slightly blushes. "As I said, we need more heart to heart scenes. So this is why I will cash in that one favor you owe me."

I stare blankly at her. "No snuggling…" I lay down next to her.

"No promises." She has a contented smile on her face. "Though, that butler outfit was another option."

"Hey… I said nothing too extreme…"

"Oh? I thought that was perfectly within standards."

I look at her blankly. "Well it's not according to my own standards."

"Meanie…" She pouts.

"Let's get some sleep already…" I turn around, my back facing her.

"Good night Nirito~ Don't let the Chika bugs bite."

"…" A look of horror appears on my face.

 _Oh shit…_

* * *

 ** **A/N: As always thank you for reading!****


	20. Flashback 2 - Nirito's Origins

**Chapter 20:** Flashback 2 - Nirito's Origins

 _You know…_

 _This thought never occurred to me before, but now…_

 _I realized that Vert is pretty much similar to Aya in a way._

 _That could explain why that I hit it off so well with her at the beginning._

 _That also explains why I like having conversations with her. It has that nostalgic feeling…_

 _Vert's personality is almost just like hers…_

 _Although, Aya didn't used to be like that before._

 _After moving to Leanbox, she started acting more bold and true to herself._

 _It's likely due to her parents placing strict restrictions on her while in Lastation. Moving to Leanbox basically freed her from said restrictions and mannerisms._

A melancholy smile forms across my face. "Even though it has caused me more headaches, I prefer the Aya that is true to herself than the Aya with the fake mask."

 _However, her princess persona wasn't that bad. It was quite endearing to be honest._

"Zzzzzzzzz… Nirito… Zzzzz…" I look to my side to see the goddess of Leanbox snuggling on my side.

I sigh. "I said no snuggling…"

 _Though… This softness is not that bad._

"I guess I will allow it just this once." I yawn.

 _Yep… She is just like Aya…_

 _Or should I say Aya is just like Vert?_

I look at the sleeping goddess's face. I gently pull up the blanket up to her shoulder.

 _I wonder… How did Aya and I meet again?_

* * *

 ** **Flashback Begin****

"Hey sir…" I hear a subtle voice, followed by a feeling of being shaken.

…

…

…

"Please wake up…" Even though my hearing is not one hundred percent yet, I can barely make it out to be a feminine voice.

…

…

…

"I need to take him to a hospital… However, my cell doesn't have any signal here…" I feel tears drop down onto my face.

…

…

…

"Please don't die on me… Please… Wake up…"

…

…

…

"Mmmmmm…" I slowly open my eyes. The first sight I'm greeted with is a blurry image of a teary eyed girl.

 _A girl?_

"Thank goodness… You're awake…" She lets out a breath of relief. At this point, my eyes fully adjusted and I can see a clearer image of the girl. She has smooth, long black hair and watery yellow eyes. She wears what seems to be quite an expensive lilac and black dress.

"Where am I?" I slowly turn my head. Just then, a sharp pain shoots in my head. "Ah!"

"Are you okay!?" The girl reflexively moves closer.

High pitched sounds are ringing in my ears, causing me to have a huge headache. "Ah!" I wince in pain.

"Here drink this!" The girl grabs from outta nowhere what seems to be a bottle with some strange liquid inside it.

"A-Ah!" Without questioning what's inside that bottle, I quickly gulp all of its contents. "Pwah! This tastes like shit!"

The girl giggles. "Well your headache is gone right?"

I sit up and put a hand to my head. "You're right… It's gone." I get onto my feet and dust some dirt off my back. "Thanks." I bow.

She gets onto her feet and dusts off dirt from her skirt. "You're welcome sir."

I slowly look around my surroundings. All I see is lots of trees surrounding me and the girl. It seems like that we are in some type of clearing. "Where are we?"

"We are in Rebirth Forest." She answers casually.

"Rebirth Forest?" I asked curiously.

"You've never heard of Rebirth Forest before?" She looks at me with a surprised look. "You know, the one with the great legend behind it."

"Sorry, never heard of it before." I scratch the back of my head.

"Do you at least know Leanbox right?"

"Haha…" I lower my head.

"Um…" She ponders for a bit. After a while, she claps her hands together. "How about we start with introductions first? My name is Aya Kizuna and I reside in a nation called Lastation. What about you sir?"

"Nice to meet you Aya. My name is…" I think for a while. However, nothing comes to mind. "My name…" I put a hand under my chin. "My name…"

"You can't remember your own name?" Aya looks at me worriedly. "Do you have amnesia by any chance?"

I try to search for any personal memories that might still linger in my mind, but to no avail. "Well… Does basic speaking and knowledge count? I can do my ABCs and 123s."

"Please be serious about this!" She scolds me.

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to lighten up the mood." I give a small smile. "Where did you find me by the way?"

"I found you basically unconscious on the ground. Luckily, there seems to be no injuries on you."

"I see…" I ponder for a bit.

 _Did I hit my head somewhere and lose my memories? That could explain that painful headache._

She still gives me a worrisome look. "So you don't know how you got here in the first place?"

"Sorry…" I lower my head.

She gives me a comforting smile. "It's okay. Hey, why don't we head back to my family's vacation home and see if you can remember something then?"

"Are you sure it's okay to bring some stranger to your house Aya?" I ask out of concern. "Aren't you the least bit suspicious of me truly having amnesia?"

"No, not really." She tilts her head. "I can tell by your tone and expressions that you are being genuine right now. I would feel terrible knowing that I leave an amnesiac out here by himself."

"Thank you Aya." I give a genuine smile.

"Come on, I'll lead us out of this forest." With that, she starts walking and I follow suit.

* * *

 ** ***Rustle* *Rustle*****

"Thanks again." I say shyly. Right now, we are walking through the forest with Aya in the lead.

"Don't worry about it." She turns her head back to look at me. "Right now, my parents are out in some big business meeting. However, my maids will still be there."

"Maids?" I stop walking. "Um… I know this is rude to ask, but…"

Aya giggles at my reaction. "Yes, I'm one of those rich girls. Also, I'm not one of those spoiled rich brats."

"I see…" I scratch the back of my head and resume my earlier walking pace.

"Don't be afraid to ask me anything sir. I don't get angry that easily."

"Thanks…" I take a look around the area around us and found it to be quite barren of wildlife.

 _Where are the animals? Are they hibernating or something?_

"Aya…" A thought occurs in my mind. "What's your reason for being in Rebirth Forest in the first place? You said you're staying at your family's vacation home right now. Sight seeing or something?"

"Yeah, something like that…" She speaks in a sad tone.

 _Oops, seems like I touched upon a sensitive subject._

"Sorry…"

…

…

…

 ***Rustle* *Rustle***

A sudden breeze blows over us, some leaves being carried away by the wind from its branches. Suddenly, Aya stopped in her tracks. "Hey sir, have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you were born somewhere else? Born from different parents?"

"Um…" I think for a bit. "I don't know how to answer that…"

Aya blushed a bit from embarrassment. "Oh sorry!" She bows. "I completely forgot!"

"Haha, it's okay." I reassure her.

"Thanks…" She turns her back and continues walking. "You don't have to answer that question. Actually, it would be best if you forget what I said."

"If that's what you want, then I'll try" I continue following her.

…

…

…

 ***Rustle* *Rustle***

"Goo… Goo…" Sounds can be heard around the area.

"Hm? You heard something Aya?" I tap on her shoulder.

"Hm?" She stops and looks around her surroundings. "No, I didn't hear anything."

 ***Rustle* *Rustle***

"Dogoo!" Suddenly, a 'thing' jumps out of the bushes. It's path of trajectory is towards an unsuspecting Aya.

"Aya watch out!" Instinctively, my body moves to protect Aya.

 ***Thud***

"Guh!" The 'thing' came into contact with my back. The force of the impact caused me to get knocked forward. My face a few inches away from Aya's.

"Sir!?" Aya's eyes widen in surprise.

"Ouch… That kinda hurts." I backed up from Aya's personal space. "Are you okay Aya?"

"Yeah…" She nods. "Thank you."

"Now then, who's the little shit…" I turn around to face the culprit. "What the hell?"

"Dogoo…" What I see is a little blue slime with a dog face.

"What's a Dogoo doing here!?" Aya backs up a bit. "There aren't supposed to be monsters on this path."

 _This thing is called a Dogoo?_

"Wait, this little thing is a monster?" I stare at it's face.

"Goo!" The Dogoo jumps at me.

"Woah!" I quickly dodge the attack. However, the Dogoo turns its sights at Aya and jumps at her. "Aya!" I pull her on the wrist, making the Dogoo's attack miss her. "Sorry about that. Does your wrist hurt?"

"No." She shakes her head. "Actually, I should thank you for saving me twice." She smiles at me.

"So this Dogoo thing…" I keep an eye on the Dogoo. "You said it's a monster right?"

"Yeah…" She nods. "I heard it's one of the easiest monsters to fight. However, I don't have any fighting experience at all."

I nod. "Okay, here's the plan…"

"Run?"

"Did you just read my mind just now?" I shake my head. "No, this isn't the time for questions." I quickly started running, while I pull Aya on the wrist.

 ***Rustle* *Rustle***

However, just then five more Dogoos jumped in front us. I try to turn back, but there were seven Dogoos blocking our path. There are twelve in total.

"Dogoo… Goo!"

 _Shit!_

I come to a complete stop. "Okay, new plan… I'll distract them, you keep running."

"But I can't leave you behind sir!" Aya protests.

I look into her eyes. "Look, we just met. You have people who are waiting for you. While for me, I don't know if I have anyone out there waiting for me. So you need to go Aya."

"I told you that I would feel terrible if I leave an amnesiac man out here by himself! So let me help you sir!" She still protests.

"Aya…" Even though I want her to leave and be safe, a part of me is glad that she wouldn't leave me with these monsters, alone. I feel a tear well up in my eye.

"Hmhmhm~" For some reason, I hear laughter coming up from above. "Sorry to ruin your moment, but I can't allow any of my citizens die. Especially against low level monsters."

"Huh? Who's that?" I look up in the sky and I see…

 _An angel!?_

"Sylhet Spear!" A magical spear appears out of thin air and pierces three Dogoos. The Dogoos that were pierced explode into…

 _Are those pixel bits?_

"Are you two okay?" The 'angel' lands on the ground. Now that I get a good look of her, she has green hair tied into a ponytail. She has purple eyes with power symbols as pupils. However, her most noticeable feature is the size of her breasts.

I gulped. "Y-Yes! Th-Thank you!"

"Lady Green Heart!" Aya stares in awe.

 _Lady Green Heart?_

"Good, now Mr. Boyfriend." Green Heart points at me. "You take the side with less Dogoos. I'll take this side."

"Woah, woah wait a minute! First of, I'm not her boyfriend! Second, I don't even remember if I have any fighting experience at all!" I slightly blush.

"My, my…" Aya blushed as well.

"Hmhmhm~" Green Heart gives a teasing laugh. "Look, a few punches and kicks would be good enough to defeat a Dogoo. It won't be that hard. Now Mr. Boyfriend, this is the perfect event where you impress the girl!" With that, she summons a spear and takes off to clear her side of Dogoos.

I blink a few times. "What a weird person…"

"I think this is the first time I heard someone called Lady Green Heart weird." Aya giggles. "Anyways, good luck sir and don't die now."

"Thanks…" I sigh. "Okay, stay here Aya. I'll be back." With that I run towards my group of Dogoos.

 _Time to bring out the tried and true fisticuffs!_

* * *

 ** ***Thud*****

"Ow, ow, ow…" I fall on the ground, my body filled with bruises and some blue slime in places you don't want to know. "I… did… it…" I let out a heavy breath

"Well… I don't know what to say…" Green Heart floats up to me, followed by Aya. "Your performance was not bad to say the least."

"Hey! Fighting those little things was really awkward!" I complain. "Fists doesn't really work too well because of their height. Kicking them makes my shoe get caught in their slime, causing me to slip a few times. They also pack a mean punch."

"However, you did defeated them sir! In my eyes, you were spectacular out there!" Aya tries to cheer me up.

Green Heart smiles. "Well, you did pretty good for someone low leveled."

I sit up. "By the way, thanks for saving us. If you didn't came, I probably would've gotten more bruises."

"Speaking of which…" Aya speaks up. "What were Dogoos doing here? This area is usually safe from monsters."

"During this time of the year is usually Dogoo mating season. During that time, Dogoos migrate to this area, away from predators, to mate and such." Green Heart explains.

"I see…" I nod.

"Well then, now I have to go and make sure Dogoos aren't bothering anyone else." Green Heart starts flying in the air. "Stay safe you two! Also, I'm rooting for you sir!" She winks at me and then takes off.

 _What a weird woman…_

"Lady Green Heart was so cool!" Aya's eyes sparkle.

"Surrrrrree… Ow…" My face winces in pain.

"Oh sorry sir!" Aya crouches about to my level. "I don't have anymore Healing Drinks on me. So you need to tough it out for a bit."

"Healing Drink? Was it that strange liquid that cured my headache."

She nods. "Here, grab onto my shoulder. You can use me as support."

"Thanks."

…

…

…

"Ow… Ow…" I try to keep myself steady as to not inconvenience Aya's balance. "Yep, I think I twisted my ankle."

"My, my…" She looks at me worriedly. "The Dogoos did a number on you. Should we take a break?"

"Nah." I shake my head. "Keep going."

"By the way, are you not going to ask me who Lady Green Heart is? You don't remember her, am I right?" She asks.

"Not right now." I sigh. "There are still some things I need to process. Like, how an amnesiac man has to fight monsters on day one of having amnesia."

"Sorry sir…" Aya says in a sad tone. "I'm not that good at fighting. Sorry I couldn't be any of help to you."

"It's fine. To be honest, I kinda had fun fighting the Dogoos as sadistic as that sounds. I guess you could say it was the adrenaline pumping."

Out of nowhere, Aya starts laughing. "You know, I had fun as well. Actually, this was the most fun I've had since my childhood."

"I see…" I give a melancholy smile.

 _Since my childhood… Hm… This isn't the best time to inquire._

* * *

"There's our exit!" Aya points at the forest exit.

"Thank goodness… I'm really tired right now… Also, in pain…" I feel my body get a bit heavy.

"Don't give up now sir! This is the final stretch!" Aya cheers me on, while keeping me balance.

"Yeah… Yeah…" I let out a sigh.

"Hey sir." A thought occurs in Aya's mind. "We need to think of a name for you."

"A name?" I tilt my head. "Well, if I'm going to interact with people, I would need a name to identify myself.

Aya slightly blushes. "To be honest, calling you sir feels a bit weird. Plus, we need a temporary name for you until you remember your real name."

"That's true…" I nod. "Okay, any suggestions?"

"Um… How about Jared? Jack?" She ponders for a bit. "Or you could go with something cool. For example, names like Excel? Digit?"

I put a hand under my chin. "Excel and Digit sounds pretty cool, but I'm not feeling it."

"Then…" Aya smiles. "What do you think of…"

…

…

…

"Nirito?"

 ** **Flashback End****

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for your patience. As always thank you for reading!**


	21. Awakening to a New Day

**Chapter 21:** Awakening to a New Day

"Ah!" My eyes snapped open and I feel my heart beating somewhat rapidly. "What was that?" I try to recall my dream that I had last night (Flashback 2).

 _Why did I have a dream about the first time I met Aya?_

I analyze the events of my dream, seeing if it was accurate to my memory of that time.

 _All of it seems accurate. My amnesia, meeting Aya, the Dogoo attack, Aya deciding on my name…_

 _However… Who was that woman with the ponytail? What did Aya call her again?_

Sadly, nothing comes to mind. "I can't even recall her hair and eye color…" I sigh.

I try to sit up, but it felt like my body is being pinned down by a foreign object. I look to my side and I see a sleeping Vert hugging my body like a body pillow.

 _Huh… That's weird… I didn't even feel her until now._

 _I guess I was thinking too hard on my dream that I blocked everything else._

"Hoy, hoy… I'm not your Nepgear body pillow." I then feel her squeeze herself more against me.

"Zzzzzzz… Zzzzzz…"

"Great…" With my free hand, I grab my phone to check on the time. My eyes widen immediately.

 _Shit! I forgot to set my alarm!_

"Vert!? Where are you darling!?" Beyond my doors, I hear Chika's voice calling out to her precious Vert. "Gah! Where did she go!?"

"Oh fuck…" A sense of dread engulfs me. "Vert wake up!" I shake the sleeping goddess.

"Zzzzzzzz… Zzzzzz…" My shaking seems to have no effect on her.

"This isn't no time to play pranks!" I keep shaking her, but there seems to be no effect.

 _Either she is really good at faking it or she is genuinely tired._

 _Can't blame her since she didn't really slept much the night before._

"Speaking of which…" I hear Chika's footsteps walk closer to my room. "Beast hasn't made an appearance yet. I wonder…"

 _I'm sorry Vert!_

I quickly pull the covers over her head, trying to conceal her presence

 ***Click***

"Woah… I didn't expect this room to be so neat and organized." Chika walks into my room, looking at the contents of my room.

"Well I do try to keep it clean. I don't like it messy." I speak to her while still on my bed. "Sorry, I forgot to set my alarm."

Chika glares at me. "You know you're getting paid by the hour, Beast." She sighs. "I still don't get why Vert hired you out of everyone else."

"And I don't get why you still hate me." I retort. "We can still be friends if you try."

"Huh?" She gives me a disgusted look. "Why would I want to be friends with you? The one who is taking my Vert's heart away every passing day!" She is starting to get heated.

"Um… I'm not trying to go for that route. I try my best not to raise any romance flags."

"Bull!" She yells.

I sigh. "Look, what did you come here for in the first place, Chika? Surely not to yell at me. You never came into my room before."

Chika crosses her arms. "Vert is missing. I can't find her in her room or office."

"Have you tried any of the stores she frequents?" I ask.

"I called all the shops if Vert was there. Even the ones from the other nations."

I stare blankly at her. "That's stalker levels right there…"

"At least I know more about Vert than you! This proves that I am closer to her than you will ever be!" I look down at the lump next to me.

 _I wonder about that…_

I clear my throat. "Well if you say that you're closer to her than me, then why haven't you found her yet?"

"Well that's why I'm here, at the Beast's Lair."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but she's not here." I try to think of an excuse.

"Oh?" She points at the lump next to me. "Then what's that under the covers?"

"My body pillow." I lie to her. "Vert's not the only one with a body pillow."

"Then lift the covers and show me." Chika begins tapping her foot impatiently.

"Trust me Chika… You don't want to see what's under here."

"Why's that?" She lifts her brow.

"Let's just say the pillow isn't in best condition right now. I believe it weighs two times more than what it originally did last night."

"TMI!" She blushes. "I don't want to know of your 'activities' from last night!"

"Your fault, you walked into that." I wave my hand. "Now shoo! I gotta do some cleaning up."

"Ugh!" She bolts out the door and slams it shut.

…

…

…

I sigh. "Okay, she's gone…" I pull the covers away. "I know you're awake Vert."

Vert opens her eyes. "That was a nice cover up, Nirito." She compliments me.

I cover my face with my hand. "Let's not talk about this please…"

"My, my~ Weighs two times more than what it originally did. You are quite the savage Nirito~" Vert teases me.

I sigh. "So? How long were you awake?"

"Hmm…" Vert sits up. "It was when you covered me." She frowns. "It was hard breathing under there."

"Sorry about that…" I scratch the back of my head.

"Well…" She smirks. "I saw something pretty 'interesting' down there. What do men call it again? Morning wood?"

I blush immediately and looked down at my crotch. "You saw that!?"

"I'm kidding!" She giggles. "Don't tell me…"

"..." I look down at the ground. "Sorry…"

Vert pats me on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It was kinda my fault for snuggling you. It was a man's natural instinct am I right?"

 _No shit!_

I sigh. "Leave me be… I'm gonna take a few shots of bleach and meet you later…"

 _If I live that is…_

She giggles while making her way towards my door. "To be honest… Last night was pretty fun and sleeping with you was surprisingly cozy." She slowly opens the door. "Thank you for letting me stay the night Nirito…" She takes her exit, leaving me alone in the peacefulness of my room.

…

…

…

"Never doing this again…"

* * *

"Huh?" I'm sitting next to Vert, filling out some documents. "Sorry, but can you repeat that?"

"Later today, I think we should go questing." She repeats herself. "What do you say Nirito?"

"Um…" I start hesitating and I feel my hands start to shake. "M-May I ask w-why?" There is a stutter in my voice.

She sets down her paperwork. "Well it has been a while since I've done any questing. Plus, I kinda feel bad leaving you to do the questing alone."

"I-It's f-fine!" I set down my set of papers as well, shakily.

Vert gently grabs my shaking hands and looks at me worriedly. "Are you okay Nirito?"

"O-Oh?" I stutter. "I-I think this is the bleach kicking in."

She tightens her grip in response to comment. "Don't lie to me." She looks me straight in the eye. "I watched too much anime to know there is a tragic backstory that's affecting you."

"As expected of a fellow otaku." I take a deep breath. "It's just that I don't trust myself being in a party anymore."

"I see…" She nods a bit. "I don't know what your tragic backstory is, but I'm going to go questing with you. That is an order."

"Huh?" I blink a few times.

"There are times when you must move forward, and I'll be the one who will set you on the straight path once again." She looks at me with determination in her eyes. "Don't complain, you know how it usually turns out in anime."

"Vert…" I smile, but it quickly turned into a blank stare as a few lightbulbs clicked in my head. "You stole that earlier line from a visual novel didn't you?"

"Haha… Caught me…" She awkwardly laughs.

"I'm pretty sure I played that one…" I sigh. "Good art, but the story was a bit above average."

She smiles. "As expected of my bodyguard to know what I'm talking about."

"Is that supposed to be praise?"

"Maybe or maybe not." She shrugs her shoulders. "So what do you say about partying up?" I ponder on the subject.

 _Maybe… Just maybe… This is the push that I needed to fix my trauma…_

 _But is it too soon?_

 _No… It has already been three years… I stalled for way too long._

 _I certainly can't stay a solo player forever as Marie once said._

 _Plus, I'm her bodyguard, so I must go either way. Even if I say no._

I nod. "Sure… I would be glad to party up with you once again." I smile at her.

"Thanks… Huh? Once again?" She asks.

"Remember? The Fenrir fight?"

"Oh…" Memories of that day floods back into her mind. "I remember that you used me as tank… Also, that you got clawed in the back."

"Those were good times…" I smirk.

"You had me really worried…" Vert frowns. "But… If you haven't gotten hurt, you probably wouldn't be my bodyguard."

I awkwardly laugh. "Probably…" A thought crosses my mind. "Speaking of which, you never told me why you chose me as your bodyguard."

"Well, I find you really interesting." She answers.

"Your true reason…" I give her a blank stare.

"If you want my true reason… I won't say now, but in due time." Vert smirks.

I sigh. "Cheeky…"

"If we are talking about our reasons, then may I ask you what's your reason for accepting my bodyguard offer? Also, finding me interesting or attractive is not a valid answer." She pouts, remembering what I told her back in chapter ten.

"Hmm… The job has good pay." I retort.

"That's it?" She looks at me disappointingly.

"Well… If I haven't accepted it, this story would have a different title and be very different." I give another reason.

"Tell me your true intentions." She returns the same blank stare I gave to her.

I smirk. "In due time."

She frowns. "Touche."

I got up from my seat. "Well, seems like the paperwork is about done. Let's head off so we can get the good quests." I extend my hand out, which she accepts.

"Thank you." She gets up from her seat with my support. "Oh yeah, it's been awhile since I've seen Maria. I wonder if I should put on my disguise."

"Don't need…" I shake my head. "It's not a really good disguise, trust me."

She giggles. "You're right. I need to formally introduce myself to her."

"Well lead the way madam." I playfully make a hand gesture towards the door. A smile is on my face, but in my mind…

 _This time… I can't make any mistakes…_

 _I will protect her…_

* * *

 **A/N: As always thank you for reading!**


	22. Conflicting Feelings

**Chapter 22:** Conflicting Feelings

"Good afternoon Marie." I greeted her as I walk through the door.

"Ni-Nirito! He broke up with me!" Marie looks at me with a pitiful face.

 _Oh shit… It's one of those days…_

The guy who Marie is talking about was the same guy who was last spoken about in chapter three. Surprisingly, she hitted it off pretty well with her date with him that they started officially dating.

 _I guess it wasn't meant to be…_

"Is something wrong Nirito?" Vert pokes her head out from behind me. "Maria?" She walks over to Marie. "Are you okay?"

"That voice…" Marie looks at Vert's face. "You're… Rina Satou…" She wipes her eyes. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Don't worry about apologizing." Vert shakes her head. "Did something happen?"

Marie looks of to the side. "Just a bad break up…"

"I see…" Vert gives her a sincere smile. "I hope you get over it soon."

"Thanks Rina." Marie smiles.

"Rina?" I walk up next to Vert. "Who's that?"

"What are you talking about Nirito?" Marie looks at me strangely. Her eyes a bit red from the crying. "I thought you two were acquaintances."

I look blankly at Vert. "Vert, would you like to explain why you named yourself after your Japanese voice actress?" I give her a fake smile.

"I'm sorry Maria, but my name is not actually Rina Satou. Sorry that I lied to you." She bows.

"What? You're not Rina Satou? Then, does that mean you're not really a tourist?"

"Nope, that was also a lie." She looks down. "My actual name is Vert. I'm actually a Leanbox citizen. The reason why I said I was Rina is because I was too into character at the time."

"Yeah." I step in. "There was a cosplaying event close by GameStart and that's where Vert and I met. At first, she acted as Rina, but later on the day, she told me her real name."

 _I'm sorry Marie. Even though you're a close friend, I still gotta protect Vert's identity of being Leanbox's CPU._

 _Basically, a lie for a lie._

"I don't really get the otaku culture, but what you're saying is that you dressed as one of those anime characters and acted like her?" Marie asked and Vert nodded. "Don't worry I'm not angry. Let bygones be bygones."

"Thanks Maria." Vert smiles.

"Now that my romance situation debrief is over…" Marie looks at me with a suggestive glance. "So how long have you two been going out?"

I sigh. "It's not like that Marie. We aren't dating."

Vert pouts. "What are you talking about Nirito? I thought we had so much fun last night~"

"Look, I thought we wouldn't bring up what happened last night." I glare at her.

"You're mean Nirito-kun~ We never promised anything~" Vert teases.

 _This woman…_

I hear Marie giggle. "You know…" She wipes a tear from her eye. "For some reason, this feels really nostalgic. Do you feel it too Nirito?"

"..." I nodded.

"So if you two aren't dating, then what's the situation?" Marie asks.

"Nirito here is my personal bodyguard!" She answers while putting both of her hands on my shoulders.

"Oh ho ho?" Marie looks at me with an intrigued glance. "This now really feels nostalgic. Am I right Nirito?"

"I've noticed…" I push Vert hands off my shoulders. "Look, can you open the quest screen already?"

"Yes sir!" Marie playfully teases me while typing on her keyboard.

The quest screen pops up and I look over at Vert. "Pick one Vert. Preferably, something easy and not dangerous. We can't go up against a big monster until we know the full extent of our teamwork."

She nods. "Okay." She walks over to the screen and looks through her options.

"Marie, let's talk… Privately…" I walk a bit away from Vert, who was distracted at the quest screen, and Marie follows along.

…

…

…

"She reminds me a lot of Aya." Marie leans against the wall.

"Yeah… I just realized that myself a while ago…" I too leaned against the wall next to her.

"So how did you land the bodyguard role for Vert?"

"Her family is part of a big animation company called Angryhouse." I lie to her. "They were looking for a bodyguard for their daughter, so I applied. The reason I applied is because it has pretty good pay."

"Never heard of Angryhouse before, but what do I know about otaku culture?" She giggles and looks over at Vert. "It seems like you finally moved on."

"Well I gotta do it sooner or later…" I look down. "Can't stay trapped in the past forever."

"Well…" She pats me on the shoulder. "Word of advice… Don't forget that Aya and Vert are still two different people, albeit they are quite similar."

"You don't have to remind me that…" I sigh. "I think I can tell the differences between those two."

"I wonder about that…" Marie walks back to her counter.

I return after pondering some things in my mind. "Got anything good Vert?"

"Well…" She points at the quest screen.

 _Of course…_

…

…

…

* * *

After a half hour of walking, we finally reached an entrance to a cave.

"Gather 5 Gold Ore…" I repeat the quest objective. "When I said easy, I didn't mean something that could take hours to find."

 _Plus, we have to go into a cave to find it…_

 _I hate caves…_

"The cave we are going into has pretty low leveled monsters. Plus, this is easy EXP."

"You know with our current levels right now…" I sigh. "We will gain barely any EXP."

"You said no tough monsters right?" Vert frowns. "Don't tell me you're going back on your word."

"Sorry… That was hypocritical of me."

"By the way…" She points at the crystals near the entrance of the cave. "I really love the light these crystals give off… It's so beautiful…" She stares at them.

"Really?" I look at them. "They look nice at first, but it loses its charm over time. Now I think of them as obstacles that ruins stealth gameplay."

"Don't be such a downer Nirito." Vert starts walking. "Let's go."

I clenched my hand as I look off into the cave.

 _I need to protect her…_

* * *

"This place is oddly quiet for a monster infested area." I look around my surroundings, making sure to double check every area.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Vert looks at me. "Also, you should calm down. You look restless and edgy."

I clear my throat. "Sorry, I'm just being a bit paranoid."

"Are you always like this when questing?" She asks.

"Not really…" I turn start turning my head for a triple check, but…

"You don't have to triple check Nirito." Vert puts both of her hands on my face, turning my head to face her. "Instead of focusing on where the monsters are, start focusing on finding the Gold Ore. K?" She smiles.

"Yes ma'am…" We continue walking deeper into the cave.

…

…

…

"Finally we found one!" I pick up the Gold Ore and put it in my pocket. I sigh. "One hour in and we finally have one…"

"Yeah… This is quite boring without monsters to fight in between." Vert sits on a rock. She pats on a spot next to her. "Let's rest a bit, sit here."

"Sure." I sit next to her. "Um…" I scratch my cheek.

 _Shit… What should I say to her?_

"Relax Nirito." Vert puts her hands on my shoulder, giving me a massage. "You're all tensed up."

"Haha… I guess I am."

 _Damn, she's pretty good at this._

However, that second of relaxation was brought to an end when I see some Pixelvaders come into view.

"Let's do this Nirito." Vert stands up and summons out her spear.

"Yeah…" I stand up. "Huh?" My vision starts becoming blurry, as the world seems to be distorting. A flashback starts appearing before my eyes.

" _Run away Nirito-kun!"_

" _No Aya! I'm not leaving without you guys!"_

" _Heh… Listen to Aya. You're injured Nirito, we got this. You got to warn Lady Green Heart about this."_

" _Xiang…"_

" _Even though I usually don't agree with him, he's right. Leader, go and warn the goddess."_

" _Hiroshi…"_

" _Don't worry Ni-kun! I'll be sure to protect Ya-chan, An-chan, and Nii-san!"_

" _Honoka…"_

 _Huh? I can't move… My legs won't move…_

" _RAWWWWWR!" The dragon leaps forward towards me. It raises up it's claw._

" _Nirito-kun watch out!" Suddenly, a foreign object pushes me out of the way. I turn my head to look at the culprit, but it was too late…_

" _Aya! No!"_

…

…

…

The next thing I know, the flashback ended, bringing me back to reality. As my vision returns, I see Vert about to engage the Pixelvaders. That triggers some type of panic within me and deep inside, angry also begins to swell up.

 _I need to protect her!_

I summon my sword and bolted towards the enemies. "Raaaaaaaaah!" I swing my sword wildly at the enemies, not leaving any left for Vert to fight.

 _I must protect her!_

* * *

"Cross Slash!" My blade gives off a blue aura and I swing my sword into an X at the Crystal Golem. The body explodes into data and the loot falls to the ground.

Vert readies her spear. "Now it's my turn! Air La-"

Before she could attack, I jumped in between her and the Crystal Golem. "Cross Slash!" I sliced the golem and it exploded into data.

"You stole my kill again!" Vert pouts. "No one likes a kill stealer Nirito."

"Don't get too riled up about it." I answered coldly. "We are in a party, so we share EXP anyways."

"But the problem is that you've been stealing all my enemies." Vert walks up to me. A serious look is in her eyes. "I never defeated one monster yet since we came in here. It's like you're taking all the monsters for yourself."

"It doesn't matter right?" I argue with her. "I believe it would be more efficient if you search for the Gold Ore while I take care of the monsters. That way, you wouldn't get hu-"

 ***Smack***

My eyes widen as Vert's hand comes into contact with my face.

 _She… She slapped me…_

"Did you forget our main objective for coming here in the first place?" Vert asks in an almost angry voice.

I put a hand to my cheek. Suddenly, I feel anger to well up in me. "It's to gather 5 Gold Ore right!? We only have 1 over a span of one hour! So, that's why we should-"

She interrupts me. "No, you idiot!" She yells at me. "Did you forget!? It's to get me back into shape! And you aren't helping at all! Even though I'm a bit rusty, I can still fight a monster or two!"

 _Oh yeah… That was the main objective, wasn't it?_

However, I ignored my better judgement and let my built up stress take over. "Oh I'm sorry madam!" I say sarcastically. "I'm sorry that I'm trying to protect you! I'm sorry that I'm trying to do my job for once!"

"You've been acting really cold today you know that? Ever since I brought up the idea of questing with you." Vert takes in a deep breath. "I don't know what happened to you in the past unless you tell me!"

"I don't have any obligations to tell you anything. Why don't you use your 'amazing' anime logic to figure it out?"

"You know that could only give me limited information!" She yells. "I won't know the full story unless I hear it from your mouth! Like how in anime and man-"

I interrupt her. "This isn't an anime or manga Vert! This is real life! People doesn't open up that easily!"

"Nirito…" Vert lowers her head that her hair covers her eyes.

I sigh. "Look, let's get this over with and go home. If you want, you can go back and I can finish this quest."

Vert brings her hand up for another slap, but stops herself from doing it. "I can protect myself you know…" She mumbles to herself.

I grit my teeth. "I think…" I took a pause. "I think I should call it quits right here… This job is causing me more stress than what it's worth…"

 _Perhaps I was wrong… Maybe, it was too early to try to move on…_

"..." Vert stays silent, while looking at the ground.

"I'll mail you my resignation letter on a later date." I turn around and started walking away, leaving Vert behind. "Get back safe, okay?"

"Nirito…" A tear drops onto the ground as she watches the lone bodyguard disappear with each step.

…

…

…

* * *

 **A/N: Remember, emotions can cloud over one's judgement, causing them to do stupid shit. When making this chapter, I'm not sure if this type of scene was too early to do. However, I took the gamble and just did it anyway. If there are any plot holes, please PM me so I can get them addressed either by a chapter refinement or explanation in a different chapter. As always thank you for reading…**


	23. Heart of Glass

**Chapter 23:** Heart of Glass

 **Vert's POV**

"Nirito…" I fall to my knees and a tear drops to the ground.

 _I'm such an idiot… Why did I have to slap him?_

 _I knew that he is just trying to protect me… He doesn't want me to be harmed…_

 _Yet, I slapped him and even yelled at him…_

 _I'm such a terrible person…_

"It hurts…" I put a hand up to my chest.

 _Why does my chest hurt?_

 _Surely this couldn't be because of the weight of my breasts…_

 _No… This is something else._

 _I think I know this type of pain…_

 _I've seen this scenario many times before. When the protagonist gets into an argument with the heroine, she gets a pain in her chest after he leaves._

 _Most likely, I'm experiencing a similar pain._

 _Not physically, but emotionally…_

That was then I realize what this pain means. I smile. "My true feelings…"

 _I see… My chest doesn't hurt, it's actually my heart…_

 _This pain is not really pain, but it's more of a desire, a longing to be with him…_

"I'm such a greedy person." I giggle. "Nirito, you better take responsibility for messing with my heart."

 _That means I have to get him back._

I get back up on my feet, a determined look on my face. "I don't want our story to end… So please… Give me one more chance Nirito."

…

…

…

"Grrrrrrrr…" From deep within the cave, a menacing growl can be heard. It's body emanates a shadowy aura. Whatever that shadow is, it seems to be spreading among the smaller monsters around it, like an infection. It somehow causes those little monsters to transform into something 'darker,' something more powerful…

* * *

 ** **Nirito's POV****

I finally made it out of the cave. I cover my eyes as sunlight comes upon contact. "Damn, that's bright." I sit on a rock next to a crystal, thinking about my actions.

"I'm such an idiot." I sigh.

 _I can't believe I lashed out on Vert…_

 _She never did anything wrong to me…_

 _All she was trying to do is helping me overcome my trauma. While I was being a cold and rude asshole to her._

 _All she wanted is to spend some time with me… Yet, I just pushed her away. Just like the other people after the 'incident.'_

I put a hand to the cheek she slapped. "Still hurts a bit…"

 _To be fair, I deserved that one._

I sigh. "I wish I could rewind time and prevent this whole argument."

 _Damn it, I wish I have a time microwave that I can send a text to my past self to avoid this confrontation._

"Sadly, something like that doesn't exist…"

 _Maybe I can apologize to her._

 _However, will she give me a chance? I bet she is still angry with me._

 _Maybe I should wait tomorrow after she cools down._

"No." I slap both of my cheeks. "I need to man up and apologize to her right now. If she doesn't want me around, then I will leave with no hard feelings."

I put my hands into my pocket and pulled the Gold Ore from my pocket. "Plus, I should give this to her.

 _I would feel guilty for taking this._

"Wait for me Vert." I get up and dust myself off. Before I re-enter the cave, I look at the same crystal Vert pointed at before we both entered the cave. It gives off a radiant light. Somehow, this light gives me the feeling of hope, washing away the doubts in my heart.

 _She's right, the light really looks beautiful…_

* * *

As I enter the cave, this time I am greeted with a bunch of monsters. I summon my magical artifact and started dashing towards the group.

"Vert! Where are you!?" I slash through the monsters while looking around. One manages to strike me in the back. I wince in pain.

 _Shit, that actually hurts. What gives? I thought these monsters were supposed to be low leveled…_

"Tch… Why do you buggars have to show up now of all times?" I strike down a Crystal Golem in a few swings.

 _They seem to have higher defense too._

 _This is weird… They even got a palette swap to a 'darker' color scheme._

 _If the monsters are stronger in this cave, then that means Vert is alone fighting these monsters. I need to find her and quick._

"Get out of my way! Radiant Wave!" The blade of my sword glows a radiant blue aura. I do a horizontal swing and a blue crescent projectile is launched towards the monsters. They all exploded into data upon contact.

"They may be stronger, but I can still defeat them easily." I breathe heavily.

 _Damn it… I hate using my other skills… Uses up too much energy…_

"However, I opened a path. Gotta move forward and find Vert!" I started running.

 _Please be safe…_

…

…

…

"Air Lancer!" I hear a voice in a corridor to the right of me. I quickly make a turn right and I see Vert in her CPU form fighting a lone Fenrir that also seem to have a darker palette like the other monsters.

"RAH!" The Fenrir tries to strike Vert with it's claws, but she blocked it with her spear. Due to the impact, she was knocked back and onto the ground.

"Radiant Wave!" I made a sneak attack on the Fenrir and it was knocked to the ground. "Vert!" I run towards her.

"Ni-Nirito…" She's on the ground, with one eye opened to look at me. "You came back…" She smiles and puts a hand up to my cheek.

"Vert… I'm sorry…" I grit my teeth. I grab a Healing Drink from my pocket and handed it to her. "Please drink this…"

She accepts the drink from me. "Thanks Nirito." She gets up from the ground, with me giving her a bit of support. "That really healed me up a good amount."

"I'm really sorry fo-" Before I could finish, she puts a finger up to my lip.

"Let's get out of this cave first. Okay?"

I nodded and we turned back to the Fenrir. "Hey, why is there a Fenrir all the way out here? This isn't their territory." I summon my sword and get into a defensive stance.

"Because this Fenrir is different…" Vert summons her spear. "It's more dangerous than the others we fought before."

"So it's another one of these weird monsters…" I nodded. "Then…" I scratch my cheek. "May I ask if you can lend me a hand? If you don't want to I understand."

Vert smiles and a tear drops from her eye. "Nirito…" She nods.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting Vert. Let's do this… Together…"

"Mmhmm…" She nods.

I take a deep breath as to calm my nerves. "Let's do this! Assault Strike!" I lunged towards the Fenrir. It tries to sidehop, but…

"Sylhet Spear!" Vert summons a magical spear. It hits the Fenrir while in midair.

"Nice!" I compliment her. "Now it's my turn!" I dash towards the staggered Fenrir. "Cross Slash!" I swing my sword. However, it was blocked the Fenrir's claws. "Tch…"

"Keep him locked in that position Nirito!" Vert flies up behind the Fenrir. "Rainy Ratnapura!" The attack hits, causing it to retreat back a distance. However, I wasn't going to give it a breather.

 ***Cling* *Cling* *Clunk***

I jump back from the Fenrir. "That's a pretty tough dog." I stab my sword into the ground as I breathe heavily.

"It's expected with this type of enemy." She lands next to me.

"Okay, here's the plan…" I grab my sword and made an X on the ground. "Get it here and I'll handle the rest."

"Okay." Vert nods. "I'll put my trust in you Nirito." With that she flies off.

 ***Cling* *Cling* *Cling***

Every attack Vert makes with her spear, the Fenrir managed to block all of them with it's claws or either dodged them. However, with every attack, she brings it closer to the X.

I get into my designated spot and patiently wait until it's time. "Three…"

"Air Lancer!" Vert's spear is wrapped with the power of wind.

"Two…"

"Almost there…" Vert is starting to get tired. Her movements becoming slower with every second.

"Ice Lancer!" With one final hit, she manages to get the Fenrir on the X. "Go Nirito!"

"One!" I brought up my sword above my head. "Bane of the Goddess!" A powerful blue aura explodes around my blade. With all my strength, I bring down my blade upon thy enemy.

"RAAAAARH!" The Fenrir disintegrated, not even leaving a trail of data or loot behind.

…

…

…

"We did it…" I unsummon my sword, letting out heavy breaths.

"Yes… We did…" Vert transforms back into her human form. However, she collapsed when she touched the ground.

 ***Thud***

"Vert!" I run to her side. I look at her leg to find a scratch wound.

"It seems like it landed a hit." She also looks at her wound.

"Here!" I reach for my pockets. "Take a Healing Bott-" However, I can't find any potions in my pocket. It seems like I ran out a while ago. "Tch…"

 _Damn it!_

"I don't have any on me as well." Vert frowns.

"Then…" I ripped out my necktie and wrapped it around Vert's leg. "Sorry, I don't have any bandages on me. This would have to do for now."

"But your necktie…" She feels guilty for ruining my necktie with her blood.

"It's fine…" I smile. "I will buy a new one."

"Thank you." Vert smiles.

"Tch…" I clenched my fist. "I failed to protect you… If I didn't leave you in the first place…" I turn my head away.

 _I failed to protect someone important to me again…_

 _It's my fault…_

"Hey." Vert puts her hands on my head and turns it to face her. "It's not your fault Nirito. Your plan was flawless."

"But as your bodyguard, it's my job to protect you." I look down. "I failed…"

"No… You didn't fail." Vert shakes her head. "Remember what you told me? You won't be making any promises in my protection."

"Oh yeah… I did, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." She nods. "So you didn't fail and it wasn't your fault. It was mine."

I grumble. "But…"

"Why don't we say it's both our faults?" She suggests. "Questing can be dangerous at times. Even us goddesses can get injured like humans. However, we take our injuries and failures and turn them into strength. The strength to rise up and fight again. The strength… To move forward…"

My eyes widen from the revelation. "Vert…"

"That goes with loss as well." She looks at me with sad eyes. "I'm pretty sure the person you lost doesn't want you to be trapped in the past. They wanted you to keep moving forward. Am I right?"

A tear drops from eyes. "Your right…"

 _My friends wouldn't want me to be like this…_

 _They would want me to move on and be happy…_

"Thanks Vert… For everything…" I give her a hug.

"No, thank you for everything…" She wraps her arms around me.

…

…

…

"I guess it's time to head back." I separate from her.

Vert smirks. "My, my, it seems like I'm in quite the predicament. I can't walk the way back to the Basilicom. Unless, a nice handsome prince would like to lend a hand."

I smile. "Sure, sure my princess." I lift Vert off the ground and put her in a bridal carry. "Let's go."

* * *

We got out of the cave with surprisingly no resistance. Now, we are walking on the safe path back.

"Thanks for coming back for me, Nirito." She has her hands on my chest.

I shake my head. "No, I should be sorry for leaving you in the first place. If I hadn't acted like a jerk…" I pause.

"It's okay." She comforts me. "You had a rough past. Losing someone who you care for is really heartbreaking. Of course you were being overprotective earlier ago. You wouldn't want the same fate to happen to me. Am I right?"

"Yes." I nodded. "I really care about you Vert. So I don't want to see you get hurt."

She blushes and looks down shyly. "But you forgot to realize that I feel the same way too. I really care about you too and I don't like seeing you in pain."

I awkwardly laugh. "Man… One week and our relationship has progressed this far."

She giggles. "We are like minded people after all. Also, to be honest, it felt like I spent an eternity with you…"

"An eternity of happiness?"

She laughs. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

I nod and looked at her seriously. "Vert, may I ask you a favor?"

"What is it Nirito?" Vert looks into my eyes as she knows what I'm going to say next.

"I want to change the way how I think about partying up with people. I want to lose my paranoia of failing again. I want to lose my fear of failing again." I close my eyes, imagining my group of friends. "And I need your help to move forward."

"Yes, I would be glad to Nirito." Vert gives me a serene smile. "As long as you don't leave my side again."

"Don't worry, I won't leave your side…" I grin. "Well only until something offers me better pay."

"Nice to ruin the moment." Vert pouts. "You're such a greedy person Nirito…"

"I'm kidding!" I laugh. "Though, I gotta pay for my figurines and what not." I stare at her. "Also, aren't you being greedy as well? You're the one who is being carried like a spoiled princess right now."

"Spoiled!? You hurt me Nirito." Vert giggles. "But yeah, we are such greedy people."

I nod in agreement. "Indeed."

"Then…" Vert stares into my eyes and her face red. "Can I ask of you to allow me to commit another greedy act?"

"What is it?" I ask.

"This…" She brings her face closer. Our lips meet and I feel this soft warmth. We stay like this for what seems like a few seconds. Which in reality, was a good minute or two. Neither of us were making any resistance during that time. We finally separate, both our faces flushed and our hearts bursting out of our chests.

"Vert…" A strong wind blows, causing the leaves to be carried along by the flow of the wind. As well, the weight of a heavy burden that I've been carrying around for a very long time…

…

…

…

* * *

 **A/N: As always thank you for reading!**


	24. Connecting Hearts

**Chapter 24:** Connecting Hearts

"Vert…" I open my mouth to say more. However, she puts a finger up to my lips, silencing me.

She shakes her head side to side. "Do you mind if I say a few words first?"

Caught off guard, I take a few moments before nodding to her in approval. "Go ahead…"

"When you left me back in the cave, I really felt heartbroken. Like, the world was falling around me. I really thought this was it between us. I was really scared." She starts to tear up.

"Sorry…" I stopped walking. "I didn't know you were feeling that way… I'm such an idiot. I don't deserve to be with a beautiful woman like you."

"Don't say that Nirito." She puts a hand up to my cheek. "Despite all those negative feelings, I can say that there is one good thing that came from all of this."

"What is it?" I ask.

"I realized how I truly feel about you." She whispers into my ear.

I blush. "A-Are you teasing me again?"

She pouts. "Here I am confessing my feelings to you and you are stomping on it. You choose the worst times to be dense."

I bashfully smile. "Sorry… Author's fault…"

"Then let me say it again." She brings our foreheads together. "I love you… Nirito…"

"Vert…" I gulped, trying to control the joy inside of me. "I-I love you too V-Vert. W-Would you go o-out with me?" I held my breath in anticipation for her answer.

She giggles. "Of course Nirito. Do you really have to ask?" Suddenly, she turns her body, wrapping her arms around my neck, causing me to fall on my butt.

"Ow!" I wince in pain. "Haha… Good to know you're excited as me."

"Hehehe…" She still is embracing me in a warm hug. "Nirito~ Nirito~"

 _Well shit… I think I broke her._

I chuckle a bit. "I'm sorry if this wasn't the love confession scene you were hoping for. I was thinking you might prefer something more romantic like something from a dating sim."

She shakes her head. "No… This scene was more than perfect for me."

"I see…" I wrap my arms around her. "Thank you Vert… For being my girlfriend…"

"Girlfriend…" She giggles. "Then, that makes you my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend…" I repeat the word. "I'll have to get used to that one."

"Hey Nirito…" Vert looks into my eyes. Her eyes are sparkling like a star. "Do you mind if we stay like this for a while?"

 _So cute…_

I chuckle. "Yes, anything for you Vert."

Hours passed as two figures sitting on a hill watches the sun sets under the horizon.

…

…

…

* * *

 ** **?'s POV****

"Hahaha! How cute… A goddess dating a human!?" I wipe a tear under my eye. "Can you believe this spectacle rat?"

"Well it was bound to happen sooner or later chu. Though it was sooner than we expected."

"It doesn't matter." An evil smile forms across my face. "As long as it doesn't hinder my plan, I could really care less about their relationship status."

"You sure this plan will work chu?" The rat looks at me with uncertainty.

"Are you doubting me rat?" I give a menacing glare.

"Chu! No ma'am!" A drop of sweat falls from the rat's forehead.

"Good." I cross my arms. "How's the key components of our plan coming along?"

"It's progressing smoothly chu… Though I still don't get why we are going through this trouble for the bodyguard chu."

I sigh. "In order to beat those vile goddesses, we need the bodyguard's power. We need his power to destroy them once and for all."

"I see…" The rat nods. "His magical artifact chu."

"Yes… If my power can't beat the CPUs, perhaps the power of a weapon that once defeated a fallen goddess can." I start laughing maniacally. "Mwahahaha!"

"This old lady is crazy chu…" The rat slowly backs away.

* * *

 ** **Nirito's POV****

"Um… Vert, can we head back now?" I look at the girl who's leaning on my shoulder.

"Mmmmm… In one more hour…" Vert closes her eyes.

"You said that two hours ago…" A few beads of sweat flow down my cheek. "Even though it's already evening, it's still quite hot out. I'm literally sweating from every pore."

She giggles. "Then… When we get back, we can take a shower… Together…"

"That's a pretty enticing offer." I imagine an image in my head.

"Pervert~" She lightly flicks my forehead. "Let's at least have a few dates first before getting down to the kinky stuff."

"I know… I know… " I chuckle. "I don't want to rush our new relationship either." I put my hand over hers. "Why don't we start with holding hands?"

"Sounds good to me." She says as we interlock our fingers.

I sigh. "Chika will surely kill me when she finds out."

"Don't worry Nirito. Despite her harsh nature, she can be nice too. Believe it or not, she actually kinda likes you."

"WHAT!?" My eyes widen. "When did I raise a flag to make her like me!?"

She giggles at my reaction. "Not telling~"

"Come on now…" I sigh, turning my head back to the sunset. "I'm looking forward to the following days."

"Me too…" Vert turns her head back to the sunset.

* * *

A few days later…

 ***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP***

My eyes slowly open and I groan in protest at the beeping alarm. Quickly, I shut off my alarm and went back to bed. Putting my arm over my eyes, I find myself drifting back to sleep.

…

…

…

"Nirito… It's time to wake up Nirito." A familiar voice rings in my ears.

I remove my arm, opening my eyes to a surprising sight. I see a familiar individual with long black hair and yellow eyes. My eyes widen at this sight. "A-Aya?"

…

…

…

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I kinda have writer's block a bit. Plus, I've been working on my other story as well. However, thanks for your patience. As always thank you for reading!**


	25. A Lively Morning

**Chapter 25:** A Lively Morning

A few days later…

 ***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP***

My eyes slowly open and I groan in protest at the beeping alarm. Quickly, I shut off my alarm and went back to bed. Putting my arm over my eyes, I find myself drifting back to sleep.

…

…

…

"Nirito… It's time to wake up Nirito." A familiar voice rings in my ears.

I remove my arm, opening my eyes to a surprising sight. I see a familiar individual with long black hair and yellow eyes. My eyes widen at this sight. "A-Aya?"

 _This can't be… I thought she…_

"Who are you talking to Nirito?" Aya moves her head closer. The first thing I noticed as she moves closer, was her scent. A wave of nostalgia hits me like a wrecking ball.

As that metaphoric wrecking ball hits me, my head starts hurting suddenly. I put my hand up reflexively. "Urgh…" My vision starts becoming distorted and my ears starts to ring a high frequency sound. "AH!"

"Nirito!?" Aya puts her hands on my shoulders. She has a worried look on her face.

My headache finally dies down and the person in front of me who I saw as Aya, wasn't. There appears in my field of vision is a blond haired girl with blue eyes. "V-Vert?"

 _What? What happened to Aya? Was that an illusion?_

"Yes, it's me. Nirito, are you okay?" She puts a hand up to my forehead. "Doesn't seem like you're having a fever."

After realizing the situation, I put my hand over hers. "It's nothing." I try to reassure her, but she looks at me suspiciously. "Don't worry about it. Just a bit of morning drowsiness."

She nods. "I guess I'll leave it at that." She smiles. "Good morning Nirito."

I got up from my bed. "Morning Vert." I stretched my arms. "You came to wake me again. How many times has it been since that day?"

"Five days straight." She pouts. "It hasn't been enough days yet for you to stop counting."

I laugh. "Well we got to inform the readers of the time skip."

She giggles at my comment. "I guess that's true."

"Um…" I scratch my cheek with my finger. "Is that a new sleeping dress?"

"Yes it is. I can't believe you noticed." She commends me.

"Well, I got an eye for that stuff." I smirk. "Looks good on you by the way. Suits you pretty well…" The next thing I know, I stare at her curves.

 _Looking good…_

"Pervert…" She blushes.

"You know… You can't really say that when you're looking at my crotch." I lightly karate chop her head.

"Muuuu…" She brings her head up. "I was just curious if you have 'that' again today."

"Hey now…" I sigh. "I swear I will put a master lock on my door."

"Come on Nirito~" She pouts. "We are dating now, no need to hide secrets from each other."

"I know that… However, I'm not pulling down my pants… That's one secret for a different time."

She giggles. "Speaking about secrets… How about I tell you mine? Then you can tell me some of yours?"

"Well…" I put a hand under my chin. "I know you like butlers… Though I guess you wouldn't really call that a secret."

"Uguu!" She dramatically falls on my bed. "This can't be… I can't believe you know my secret to end all secrets…" She dramatically says.

"It's not even a secret when everyone in the Neptunia community knows about it." I sigh. "Even so, a good boyfriend knows their girlfriend's personal secrets."

She frowns. "Are you saying I'm a bad girlfriend?"

"Of course not!" I lay down next to her, embracing her in a hug. "It's only been five days since we started going out. Of course you wouldn't know all about me yet. The same could be said about me."

"That's good…" She snuggles her head onto my chest. "Hehe… I love you Nirito…"

"I love you too Vert." I give her a kiss on the check. "Am I forgiven?"

My kiss catches her by surprise. "S-Somewhat…" She blushes. "I'll fully forgive you when you take me out on a date."

"Hopefully soon…" I sigh. "We had a lot of work during these last couple of days. We didn't have much time to do couple stuff."

"I know…" Vert pouts. "Stacks upon stacks of paperwork… Thanks for the help by the way."

"It's no problem." I smirk. "I think I could get used to this political work."

Her eyes light up. "You can be Leanbox's CPU Candidate!"

"Rejected…" I shot her down.

"Why!?" She has a surprised look on her face.

"Because… I don't have a HDD form first of all. Second, I said I could get used to political work, but I didn't say I liked doing it." I sigh. "This political stuff is more in Chika's territory."

"Speaking of Chika… Have you noticed she's been acting weird lately?" She asks.

I remove my arm around her and sit up on my bed. "You're right… I noticed she's been acting more aggressive towards me. Do you think she have founded out about our relationship?"

"Probably…" Vert sits up on my bed. "Even so, I think we should tell her about us soon."

"Yeah…" I nod. "Plus, we need to make the announcement to the CPUs as well." I slap both of my cheeks. "Man, I feel nervous."

"Hey…" She leans on my shoulder. "Let's not worry about that now. What you should worry about is our first date."

"Gee… Thanks for the confidence boost." I say sarcastically. I look down, my eyes focusing on Vert's lips. "You know… It has been a couple of days since our first and last kiss."

She blushes. "Yeah, it has…"

I put a hand under her chin, causing her head to turn. "I've been holding back during these couple of days." I look into her eyes. "With you this close, I'm not sure if I can hold back anymore."

"You're not the only one…" She blushes, her lips glistening.

"Vert…" I bring my face close to hers. My lips hovering around hers.

"Stop teasing me~" She seductively whispers.

"As you wish milady." I go in, our lips meeting in an embrace. "Mmph…"

"Mmmmm~ Hmmph~" She makes soft moans.

After a minute, we finally separate. "Haa… Haa… Vert…"

"Niri-" I interrupt her by moving in for another kiss. "Mmmmpph~"

Unlike the last kiss, this one lasted longer. Instinctively, I gently push her down, me being on top. "Haa… Haa… Haa…" I look down, seeing that her cheeks are really flushed.

"Haa… Haa… Nirito…" She looks at me with yearning eyes. "W-We shouldn't be doing this… We have work to do…"

"Let's forget about work for today…" I put my hand under her dress, feeling up her bare thighs. She holds back a moan in response. "Besides, you may be saying that, but your eyes are saying something else." I whisper in her ear. "A bad girl like you should be punished…"

 ***SLAM***

As I go in for another attack on Vert's lips, my door slams open. There stood a figure that I knew I would have to face sooner or later.

"What is the meaning of this?" Chika blankly says, her face covered by her hair.

"Ah! Um!" I quickly got off Vert and we both sit up. Our faces were still very red. "I can explain this Chika!"

"I don't care anymore…" She turns around. "Please forgive me lady Vert, but I feel like I need to take a day off…"

"Wait Chika!" Vert reaches out her hand.

"Oh yeah…" She answers with no emotion. "Almost forgot to tell you… The Nep sisters are currently waiting in your office…" With that, she leaves us, shutting the door on her way out.

"Chika…" Vert's arm drops limply.

I stand up. "I need to fix this."

"Let me go with you!" Vert stands up as well, hugging my arm.

I shake my head. "No… You got Neptune and Nepgear to see. I want to talk to Chika alone…"

She reluctantly nods. "Fine… However, please don't be angry with her."

I pat her on the head. "I'm not angry. I understand what she's going through."

"Thank you Nirito." She smiles. "Well I should be off to see them." Before she leaves, she gives a quick peck on my cheek. "Good luck." With that, she leaves the room.

"What a day so far…" I sigh. "Anyways…" A serious look is on my face. "I got to do my part and make things right with Chika."

I sniff underneath my armpit "But first of all… I need a shower…"

* * *

 **A/N: As always thank you for reading!**


End file.
